w;mmims^^^m 


LAND 


iVSB©RG 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


IN  SUABIA-LAND 

(WURTEMBERG) 


l^v 


mo.  7 


LIBRARY  OF  THE  GREAT  WORLD 

COMPRISING  ORIGINAL  VOLUMES  OF 

l)i6tors,  JSioarapb^,  Science,  n:ravel,  JEtc. 

In  cloth  and  morocco^  with  frontispiece.    Published 

for  subscribers  at  30  cents  in  cloth,  and 

45  cents  in  morocco. 

EDITED  BY 

A.  VAN  DOREN  HONEYMAN 


BOOKS  ISSUED. 

THE  AZTECS.     By  The  Editor. 

REINDEER-I.AND.     By  The  Editor. 

THE  HOI.I.AND  OF  TO-DAY.     By  J.  A.  Mets. 

HOW  THE  WORI.D  WAS  MADE.     By  Wm.  H. 
Larrabee,  LL.  D. 

THE  PERUVIANS.   By  Arthur  Howard  Noll. 

ADMIRALr  PAUL  JONES.     By  The  Editor. 

IN  SUABIA-I,AND.    By  I^aura  Maxwell. 

some  succeeding  volumes: 

WHAT  WE  KNOW  ABOUT  THE  STARS.      By 
The  Editor. 

ALFRED  THE  GREAT.     By  Thb  Editor. 

Etc.,  Etc.,  Etc. 

[Order  of  publication  of  volumes  not  certain.] 


Castle  IJchtenstein 


Xibratu  of  tbe  ©teat  XRIlorl5 


IN  SUABIA-LAND 

(WURTEMBERG) 

An   ^pp]|.r:c;c^l.atlCH<k;:;* 


BY 

LAURA  MAXWELL 


pUintlel^  flew  Scxbc^ 
tyonc^mnn  Si  Company 

1905 


Dear  Fatherland,  what  blessing, 

What  gift  art   thou  denied? 
Of  thine  exalted  station 

One  hears  on  every  side. 

.  They  say  thou  art  an  Eden, 
Thou  art  a  garden  fair; 
How    can    we    better    praise    thee 
Thou  land  beyond  compare? 

Thy  men,  are  they  not  ever 

Industrious,   frank,    upright?  ** 

Ip. ,  pea/:ef ul  art  instructed,    • 

Yi^tbiravest  *m  *a  :fi|h«?:    : 

And  are  not  all  thy  women      , 
f     Don?es^ic,  .pipusj  true?    •     *    • 
\W«th'he&ris- where  .We^^t;rg's  Uegend 

•Still  Woisoftls  forth -&neW«?^»" 

— From  Uhland. 


THE  CHAPTERS 

;I.    Geography  AND  Early  History 5 

il.    The  House  of  Hohenstauffen i6 

III.  The  House  of  Wurtemberg 22 

IV.  Household  Ways  and  Social  Customs 32 

y.    Religion,  Funerals  and  Weddings 42 

VI.    Holidays  AND  Festivals 48 

VJI.    Some  General  Customs 53 

VIII.    The  Neckar  Valley 62 

IX.    The  Suabian  Alb 75 

JC.    Art  and  Literature 86 


Copyright,  1905,  by 
Honeyman  &  Company 

Published  Aug.  28,  X905 


GIFT 


"Suabia,    though   lost^frpm   the   map,    survives   forever   in 
history,  poetry  and  ronjanc^,";  ;  ',  J*  •*•!*' 

!     2  •  V  •    *••*  \    *  •— TILTON. 


IN  SUABIA-LAND 

CHAPTER  I 
Geography  and  Early  History 

On  the  top  of  the  Rothenberg,  an  eminence 
which  rises  from  the  bank  of  the  Neckar  near  the 
centre  of  the  realm,  stood  once  in  medieval 
times  the  castle  of  a  Suabian  Count,  who  ex- 
ercised therein  so  generous  and  free  a  hospi- 
tality that  the  title,  *Wirth-auf-dem-Berg" 
(Host  on  the  Hill),  was  accorded  him,  and  be- 
came in  time  that  of  his  family  and,  later,  of  the 
kingdom.  This  popular  tradition,  now  rejected 
by  serious  historians,  easily  wins  acceptance  with 
all  sojourners  in  this  beautiful,  friendly  region,  so 
truly  does  it  accord  with  the  prevalent  spirit  of 
sincere  hospitality  yet  pervading  the  land.  Off 
from  the  great  arteries  of  travel,  unblazoned  in 
guide-books  by  great  natural  wonders,  or  famous 
achievement,  it  is  only  to  those  travellers  who 
seek  out  its  many  charms  that  Wiirtemberg  re- 
veals itself.     The  hurrying  tourist  sees  from  the 


6  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

window  of  his  railway  carriage  only  the  beauti- 
ful, spreading  panorama  of  mountain  and  valley, 
or  inspects  the  public  collections  of  artistic  treas- 
ures gathered  in  its  largest  city.  A  full  apprecia- 
tion can  only  come  from  tarrying  among  its  peo- 
ple, sharing. their  sim^k. (Relights,  revelling  in  the 
great  natilraJ-' beauty  cif^tRrs.land  of  forest  and 
mountsiin,  c  and  cdiscavejing  foF^ioneself  the  hid- 
den tic^jif^sidf  j,lfegert^  ;an4  a^r-jt  s.e.^iuestered  among 
the  historic  ruins  of  its  ancient  cloisters  and 
castles. 

Stuttgart,  the  capital,  is  delightfully  situated 
on  the  Nesenbach,  just  above  its  juncture  with 
the  Neckar,  900  feet  above  the  sea-level.  The 
city  is  surrounded  by  picturesque,  wooded  hills, 
and  laid  out  with  much  taste  and  beauty.  Not 
attaining  great  importance  until  made  capital 
of  the  Duchy  in  1482,  its  history  makes  no  part 
of  the  early  traditions  of  the  land.  Its  chief 
growth  has  been  during  the  last  two  centuries, 
during  which  good  architects  of  the  later  Renais- 
sance have  made  of  it  an  attractive  city,  with 
fine  public  buildings,  pleasant  homes  and  beauti- 
ful parks  and  suburbs.  There  are  many  interest- 
ing monuments  and  a  good  collection  of  ancient 
and  modern  art.  There  are  also  many  present- 
day  attractions  in  the  way  of  music  and  litera- 
ture— for  Stuttgart  is  a  great  book-publishing 
centre — while  it  offers  the  many  joys  of  a  less 
strenuous  life  than  can  be  lived  in  the  more 
bustling  cities  of  North  Germany.  Like  all  for- 
eign capitals,  however,  it  is  more  or  less  cos- 
mopolitan in  character,  and,   for  a  closer  view 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  7 

of  family  life  and  surviving  national  customs,  a 
more  thoroughly  Suabian  environment  should  be 
sought  in  one  of  the  smaller  towns,  w^here  an- 
cient tradition  and  usages  still  prevail. 

Old  Suabia. — A  popular  ballad  asserts  that 
''Wiirtemberg  Germany's  garden  is  and  Ess- 
lingen  its  Paradise,"  and  it  was  this  latter,  quaint 
old  town,  nine  miles  above  Stuttgart,  that  re- 
ceived so  kindly  into  its  midst  the  American 
stranger  who  now  writes  this  appreciation  of 
Wiirtemberg's  charms  and  hospitality.  To  be 
the  one  Amerikanisch'es  Mddele  in  a  foreign 
town  of  25,000  inhabitants  is  necessarily  to  oc- 
cupy a  position  of  some  prominence  in  local  gos- 
sip, and  when  the  spirit  of  the  place  is  kindly,  a 
cordial  interchange  of  curiosity  can  open  up  most 
delightful  opportunities  of  acquaintance  and  in- 
formation. 

*' Suabia"  is  no  longer  in  the  geography.  The 
country  so  familiar  in  history  and  literature,  and 
so  rich  in  popular  tradition,  has  no  present-day 
entirety,  but  its  domains  belong  in  part  to  each 
of  the  three  modern  kingdoms,  of  Baden,  Ba- 
varia and  Wiirtemberg.  This  last  contains,  how- 
ever, the  kernel  of  the  old  Suabia,  and,  as  on  the 
seventeenth  of  March  all  Irishmen  rank  them- 
selves with  greatest  pride  as  true  "sons  of  Erin," 
so  the  fondest  boast  of  the  patriot  of  Wiirtem- 
berg is  always,  *'I  am  a  Schwab." 

The  old  dialect,  once  the  language  of  court  and 
literature,  is  the  preferred  speech  of  the  people, 
and  the  adjective  "Schwabisch"  is  of  most  univer- 
sal and  favorite  application. 


8  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

Geography  and  Early  History. — The  present 
kingdom  of  Wiirtemberg,  now  a  part  of  the  great 
German  Empire,  is  wedged  in  between  the  prin- 
cipalities of  Baden  and  Bavaria,  the  beautiful 
Lake  Constance,  of  which  one-fifth  belongs  to 
Wiirtemberg,  making  its  southern  boundary  with 
Switzerland.  Its  area  is  7,528  square  miles.  It 
rises  in  a  successive  series  of  hills  and  mountains, 
only  one-fourth  of  the  country  being  rated  as 
level  land.  The  result  is  an  exceedingly  pictur- 
esque region — full  of  natural  beauty  and  bold 
scenic  effects;  a  stepping-stone  to  the  grander 
Alps  just  beyond.  The  valley  of  the  Neckar  and 
its  tributaries  forms  the  northern  portion,  a  fertile 
lowland,  with  isolated,  vine-clad  hills.  Between 
this  and  the  valley  of  the  Danube,  which  crosses 
the  land  in  a  northeasterly  direction,  rises  the 
Suabian  Alb,  or  Jura,  a  very  striking  range, 
making  a  sharply-defined,  high  wall  of  successive 
peaks  from  Hohenzollern  across  into  the  Bava- 
rian border.  Behind  this  are  the  pines  and  firs 
of  the  Black  Forest,  which  constitutes  the  south- 
ern portion  of  the  kingdom.  The  detached  prin- 
cipality of  Hohenzollern,  which  belongs  to  Prus- 
sia, lies  in  central-south-east. 

Wurtemberg  stands  third  among  the  German 
states  as  regards  area,  and  fourth  as  regards  pop- 
ulation. This  latter  is  chiefly  agricultural,  the 
farms  ranging  from  two  and  a-half  to  twenty- 
five  acres,  but  thirty  per  cent,  of  the  land  is 
forest,  which  is,  however,  a  source  of  revenue  to 
the  state.  The  chief  crops  are  hay,  oats,  clover, 
barley  and  potatoes,  and  the  small  farms,  which 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  9 

are  laid  out  in  long  and  short  strips  rather  than  in 
irregular  patches,  as  in  America,  give  the  effect 
of  great  rag  carpets  laid  over  valleys  and  across 
lower  hills. 

\Vurtemberg's  history  is  one  of  romance.  Tra- 
ditions hover  over  all  its  many  hills  and  forests, 
affecting  still  the  quiet  life  and  thought  of  to-day. 
The  kingdom,  with  its  present  boundaries,  was 
only  constituted  in  1809.  Its  early  history 
emerges  gradually  from  that  of  the  great  German 
realm,  and,  later,  from  that  of  Suabia. 

In  the  First  Century  before  Christ  it  was  the 
Kelts  that  held  a  roving  possession  of  this  Rhine- 
land,  and  of  this  people  we  have  but  scanty 
knowledge.  That  they  were  not  wholly  rude 
barbarians,  ignorant  of  all  the  arts  of  civilization, 
can  be  proved  by  the  beautiful  treasures  found  in 
what  are  called  the  Heiden  Graben  (heathen 
graves)  scattered  all  over  Suabia.  Some  of  these 
must  be  dated  back  three  thousand  years,  and 
from  the  numerous  great  hills  erected  over  the 
chieftain's  graves,  as  well  as  from  the  lesser 
mounds  of  their  more  humble  followers,  have 
been  taken  many  interesting  and  beautiful  ar- 
ticles of  household  art  and  utility.  Gold,  bronze, 
silver,  iron,  utensils  for  domestic  use,  or  articles 
of  personal  adornment,  richly  decorated  and 
finely  wrought,  w;hich  in  these  past  ages  played 
their  part  in  the  daily  Keltic  life,  are  now  to  be 
seen  in  the  Stuttgart  Museum.  Some  of  these  bear 
mark  of  tlie  Fifth  Century  before  Christ  and 
are  of  Grecian  manufacture,  ''intimating,"  says 
a  writer,  "an  exchange  of  greetings  between  the 


lo  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

land  and  time  of  Sophocles  and  Plato  and  this 
remote^  unclasslcal  country.'*  The  traces  of 
this  Keltic  domination  are  still  to  be  seen  in 
the  remains  of  sacrificial  altars  and  in  the  many 
vestiges  of  elaborate  roads  and  walls,  while  the 
ruins  of  more  than  one  hundred  of  their  strong- 
holds remain  in  Wiirtemberg  to  this  day. 

The  Roman  Conquest. — The  Roman  Conquest 
followed,  and  of  that,  too,  we  find  lasting  me- 
morials, the  stones  of  which  are  left  in  situ,  while 
the  movable  treasures  now  enrich  the  town  and 
city  museums.  Against  the  constant  incursions 
and  attacks  of  the  savage  tribes  the  southern 
conquerors  were  compelled  to  erect  barriers,  and 
the  great  extent  and  strength  of  some  of  these 
fortifications,  revealing,  as  they  do,  an  almost 
superhuman  energy,  and  labor,  have  gained  for 
their  remains  the  name  of  ''Devil's  walls.'* 
Highroads,  for  the  transportation  of  the  vast 
armies  and  colonies  brought  to  conquer  and  garri- 
son the  land,  were  built,  and  Cannstatt  on  the 
Neckar  was  thus  anciently  connected  with  Baden- 
Baden  and  Strasbourg. 

The  fortress  was  a  necessity  and  around  it  grew 
up  villages  which,  in  some  cases,  grew  later  to 
cities,  populated  by  soldiers'  families,  artisans,  mer- 
chants and  peasants.  Near  the  high  roads 
would  be  built  occasional  villas,  the  summer  re- 
sorts of  the  Italian  nobles  or  Rome's  recompense 
to  her  successful  generals.  Recent  excavations 
have  revealed  mosaics,  frescoes,  statues,  vases  and 
other  artistic  treasures,  the  decorations  of  these 
Roman  pleasure-houses.     As  many  as  five  hun- 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  ii 

dred  of  these  Roman  remains  have  been  found  in 
Wiirtemberg,  all  in  the  Neckar  Valley  or  on  the 
Alb,  for  great  territories  of  the  land  remained 
in  thick  forest  absolutely  uninhabited. 

Only  one  of  the  ancient  cities,  Rottenburg  on 
the  Neckar,  can  today  show  traces  of  this  period 
of  occupation.  Here  are  the  foundations  of  the 
castles  on  either  bank;  the  Aqueduct,  Temple, 
Theatre  and  public  and  private  buildings  can  be 
plainly  traced.  With  the  Romans  came  their 
gods,  and  altars  to  Jupiter  and  Juno,  Apollo  and 
Diana  stood  on  spots  long  since  reconsecrated  by 
pious  hearts  to  the  worship  of  the  God  of  Luther. 
The  Roman  domination  lasted  but  two  centuries 
north  of  the  Danube,  leaving,  however,  lasting 
traces  upon  the  after  development  of  the  country, 
even  though  the  civilizing  influences  of  the  South- 
land were  followed  by  a  barbaric  inundation  from 
the  North. 

In  213  the  Alamanni,  or  Suevi,  appeared  first 
offensively  on  the  boundaries  of  the  Roman  realm. 
They  were  beaten  back  by  Emperor  Caracalla, 
but  in  270  had  gained  possession  of  this  north- 
ern portion,  and  Rome  not  only  withdrew,  but 
trembled.  Centuries  of  strife  among  the  w^an- 
dering  tribes,  Alamannic,  Burgundian  and  Prank- 
ish, followed.  Through  the  missionary  zeal  of  the 
latter  Christianity  was  introduced  and  St.  Mi- 
chael and  St.  Martin  succeeded  Thor  and  Odin  as 
tutelary  deities. 

The  Cloister  and  Charlemagne. — Monks  and 
traveling  preachers  carried  the  new  Gospel 
through  the  land,  and  in  the  Eighth  Century  ap- 


12  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

peared  the  cloister.  Founded  by  monastic  zeal, 
or  kingly  vow,  these  became,  during  the  troub- 
lous times  which  followed,  alike  the  refuge  of  the 
unprotected  and  the  retreat  of  the  disabled  war- 
riors; and,  during  succeeding  centuries,  they 
wielded  great  power  in  the  land.  Under  Count 
Eberhard  im  Bart  there  were  nine  hundred  in 
Wiirtemberg  and,  later,  fully  one-third  of  that 
realm  was  in  their  possession,  the  fruitful  cause  of 
many  of  the  kingdoms'  woes. 

The  oldest  cloister  is  that  of  EUwagen,  found- 
ed in  755  by  Bishop  Erlulf.  Others  followed 
fast  and  were  richly  endowed.  Wiirtemberg 
now  acquired  its  native  saints,  the  holy  Meurad 
and  Regiswindis,  whose  traditional  history  and 
miracles  can  be  traced  in  memorials  and  relics  in 
the  churches. 

In  the  Eighth  Century  the  land  was  divided 
into  provinces,  the  ruler  or  count  of  which  was 
appointed  by  the  King.  Now  first  appears  the 
mention  of  a  province  of  Wiirtemberg,  the  be- 
ginning of  the  present  kingdom.  Suabia  was  but 
a  small  portion  of  the  extensive  realm  of  Charle- 
magne (d.  814),  and  did  not  play  any  prominent 
part  therein.  During  the  reign  of  that  great  or- 
ganizer the  land  was  brought  under  compara- 
tively close  supervision,  and  many  changes  in  na- 
tional customs  gradually  took  place.  We  now  see 
the  beginning  of  the  manor  house.  A  Wiirtem- 
berg historian  says  that  in  the  Suabian  common 
law  of  this  period  it  was  declared  that  a  man 
might,  without  having  to  ask  special  permission 
of  the  realm,  build  a  residence  surrounded  by  a 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  13 

wall  so  high  that  one  sitting  upon  a  horse  could 
reach  the  top  with  his  hand,  but  without  turrets 
or  breastwork.  Most  of  the  land  belonged  to  the 
King,  and  the  rest  to  the  nobles  and  the  church, 
for  Charlemagne  was  a  strong  upholder  of  papal 
power  and  gave  rich  benefices,  establishing,  also, 
classical  schools  for  the  education  of  priests.  All 
unclaimed  land  belonged  to  the  realm,  as  well  as 
all  the  rivers  and  highways,  and  any  bestowal 
must  be  by  a  royal  brief.  As  a  result,  the  mass  of 
the  population  was  dependent  upon  the  manor 
lords  for  the  soil  to  cultivate,  and  paid  for  it  in 
crops  and  personal  service. 

Thus  the  necessities  of  existence  brought  about 
the  feudal  system,  with  all  its  evils.  In  time  relief 
came  through  the  introduction  of  cavalry  into  the 
army  and  the  consequent  opening  up  of  independ- 
ent careers  through  the  gate  of  knighthood,  won 
by  personal  valor  and  hardihood ;  also  by  the  rise 
of  other  than  a  land  aristocracy.  Agriculture  be- 
gan to  flourish,  the  example  being  set  In  the  kingly 
domains,  where  were  Instituted  sample  agricul- 
tural stations.  The  first  vineyard  was  planted 
near  Hellbronn  In  766 — the  precursor  of  those 
which  now  cover  the  rising,  fertile  ground  of  the 
valley  of  the  *  Rhine,  and  flax,  peas,  beans, 
lentils  and  dyestuffs  were  cultivated.  Charle- 
magne's agricultural  list  Included  seventy- 
three  different  kinds  of  garden  products  and  six- 
teen varieties  of  trees.  Trades  sprang  up  and 
German  native  art  had  Its  beginning. 

In  814  Charlemagne  died,  and  In  843  his  great 
realm  was  divided  Into  three  Independent  por- 


14  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

tions,  all  the  people  of  German  tongue  being 
united  .under  the  sceptre  of  Louis  the  German, 
grandson  of  Charlemagne,  whose  principal  palace 
was  at  Ulm,  on  the  Danube.  Louis  has  been 
called  the  Father  of  his  Country,  for  he  laid  the 
groundwork  of  German  nationality.  Karl  the 
Fat  succeeded  to  the  throne  and  was  crowned 
king  at  Rome  by  the  Pope  in  88 1,  but,  seven 
years  later,  death  alone  saved  him  from  enforced 
abdication  in  favor  of  his  nephew,  Arnulf  von 
Karnten,  who  later  was  crowned  Roman  Em- 
peror. The  Carlovingian  race  ended  with  this 
latter's  son,  Louis,  who,  was  made  king  at  six 
years  of  age,  and  dying  at  eighteen,  is  known  in 
history  as  Louis  the  Child.  Rivalry  among  the 
ducal  houses  for  the  succession  followed,  and 
strife  and  contention  prevailed;  civil  strife 
among  themselves  and  desperate  fighting  with  the 
Magyars,  who  descended  in  hordes  upon  the  land. 
The  Magyars:  Emp.  Henry  IV. — In  917  the 
prize  of  the  German  lordship,  under  Henry  of 
Saxony,  fell  to  Burkhard,  one  of  the  Suabian 
Dukes,  and  his  descendants  ruled  until  1080.  On 
St.  Lawrence's  day,  the  tenth  of  August,  955,  was 
fought  the  famous  and  decisive  battle  against  the 
invading  Magyars,  when  those  hosts  were  put 
to  confusion  by  the  German  and  Frankish  armies. 
Before  the  battle  the  Christian  army  had  made  a 
solemn  appeal  to  their  God  for  help,  the  King 
vowing  that,  if  Christ  would  give  them  the  vic- 
tory over  their  enemy,  he  would  build  a  bishopric 
for  St.  Lawrence  in  the  city  of  Merseburg.  Of 
one   hundred   thousand    Hungarians   only   seven 


I 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  15 

escaped.  Joy  over  the  deliverance  was  widespread 
and  universal,  for  Christendom  had  been  in  im- 
minent peril. 

Rudolf  was  the  last  of  this  line  of  royal  Dukes. 
During  his  reign  (1057-1080)  arose  the  great 
historic  contest  between  the  Emperor  and  the 
Pope,  which  for  a  long  time  to  come  desolated 
the  whole  of  civilized  Europe.  Gregory  VII. 
was  in  the  Papal  chair;  Henry  was  Emperor, 
and  the  ambition  of  the  former  was  met  by  the 
opposition  of  the  latter.  The  Pope  availed  him- 
self of  all  the  weapons  of  his  spiritual  office,  and 
the  land  was  put  under  the  ban  of  the  Holy 
Church.  Henry  crossed  the  Alps  and  made  his 
historic  penance,  standing  three  days  in  penitent's 
garb  in  the  court  of  the  Castle  of  Canossa,  and 
the  ban  was  withdrawn,  but  Rudolf  of  Suabia, 
— called  by  the  Pope  ''the  holy  Peter's  most  be- 
loved Son" — was  made  Emperor  by  the  Papal 
party  (1079).  Henry,  at  news  of  this,  hastened 
back  over  the  Alps  and  his  troops  overran  the 
valley  of  the  Neckar,  which  suffered  all  the  hor- 
rors of  strife  and  devastation  during  the  long 
years  of  civil  war  that  ensued.  Gregory  again 
excommunicated  Henry  and  his  supporters,  who, 
in  turn,  called  together  a  synod  at  Mainz,  and  de- 
clared a  new  Pope,  Clement  III.,  ,who  now  is- 
sued his  papal  ban  against  Rudolf.  In  the  bat- 
tle of  Hohen  Molsen  (October  15,  1080),  Ru- 
dolf was  slain.  He  was  frightfully  mangled,  his 
right  hand  being  severed  from  his  body,  which 
was  popularly  recognized  in  those  times  as  a 
proof  that  the  judgment  of  God  had  come  upon 


i6  IN  SUABIA-LAND 


I 


him,  for  had  he  not  with  that  very  right  hand 
falsely  sworn  allegiance  to  the  Emperor,  whose 
throne  he  had  later  usurped? 


CHAPTER   II 
The  House  of  Hohenstauffen 

"Think  on  that  mountain  rising  high  and  slim, 
The  fairest  peak  of  all  the  Suabian  hills, 
And  boldly  bearing  on  its  royal  head 
The  Hohenstauffens'  old  ancestral  house. 
And  far  around,  in  mellow  sunshine  spread, 
Green,  winding  valley  of  a  fruitful  land 
Sparkling  with  streams  and  herd-supporting  meadows — 
With  wooded  hills  that  woo  the  hunt  and  sound 
Of  convent  vespers  from  the  nearer  dells." 

-Uhland. 

This  is  the  most  glorious  period  of  Suabian  his- 
tory, that  of  the  domination  of  the  House  of 
Hohenstauffen.  The  ruins  of  their  old  castle, 
crowning  its  isolated  mountain-top,  can  be  seen 
far  and  wide  from  the  lowlands  of  the  Neckar,  a 
visible  reminder  of  those  romantic  days  of  legend 
and  chivalry  when  personal  power  and  manly 
worth  dominated  both  Nature  and  people.  The 
Emperors  of  this  race  ruled  with  excessive  bril- 
liancy and  ability,  and  even  to-day  hold  the  most 
popular  place  in  German  tradition,  as  in  their 
lifetime  they  did  in  the  hearts  of  their  subjects. 
Of  the  progenitor  of  the  line  nothing  is  known  ; 
he  was  one  of  the  many  small  counts  of  the  land, 
and  his  descendants  derived  their  family  name 
from  that  of  the  high  hill  on  which  he  perched 
his  family  fortress. 

Frederick   von    Hohenstauffen   was   a   trusted 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  17 

companion  as  well  as  a  son-in-law  of  Henry  IV., 
and  in  1079  the  Emperor  created  him  Duke  of 
Suabia,  although  it  was  thirty  years  before  this 
claim  was  fully  established.  Henry  died  in  1106 
and  Frederick  the  year  previous.  When  Henry 
V.  left  his  German  domains  for  Italy  to  obtain 
his  investiture,  it  was  to  Conrad  and  Frederick 
von  Hohenstauffen,  his  own  nephews,  that  he  left 
the  difficult  task  of  maintaining  the  imperial  pow- 
er at  home.  The  Fifty-year  War  between  Pope 
and  Emperor  was  ended  in  1122,  and  in  11 25 
Henry  V.  died,  leaving  his  nephew,  Frederick,  his 
understood  successor.  The  choice  of  the  Princes, 
however,  was  Lothair  of  Saxony,  and  the  feuds 
of  succession  recommenced.  In  these  wars  is  said 
to  be  found  the  origin  of  those  designations 
Guelph  and  Ghibbeline,  which  have  become 
world-famous  through  their  influence  on  Italian 
and  universal  history.  Duke  Welf,  whose  fam- 
ily claims  on  the  Lombard  estates  of  the  Countess 
Matilda  gave  rise  to  the  Italian  invasion  and  con- 
quest, fought  for  the  position  of  German  Emperor 
against  Conrad  and  Frederick  von  Hohenstauf- 
fen.  His  battle  cry  was.  Hie  Welf!  and  that 
of  his  rivals  was  Hie  Waiblingen!  their  former 
family  name.  These  in  Italian  became  later  Guelf 
and  Ghibbeline. 

At  Lothair's  death,  which  occurred  in  1137, 
Conrad  was  chosen  head  of  the  kingdom,  but 
not  until  11 43  was  the  strife  over  the  succes- 
sion ended.  To  these  times  belongs  the  incident 
famous  in  song  of  "The  True  Wives  of  Weins- 
berg."     At  the   surrender    of    the    fortress  of 


i8  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

Weinsberg,  Emperor  Conrad,  the  victor,  gener- 
ously granted  to  the  women-prisoners  permission 
to  leave  the  place  and  to  take  with  them  as  much 
as  they  could  carry  on  their  shoulders. 

"Well,  then,  in  Weinsberg  be  it  told 
I    grant   a   woman's   prayer; 
Let  all  the  women,   young  and  old. 
Go  forth  with  all  their  arms  can  hold 
And  all  their  backs  can  bear. 

"Although  the  town  was  given  to  sack. 
Yet,  with  a  throbbing  breast, 
Each  woman   bore   upon  her   back. 
Or   in   her   arms,    through    smoke    and    wrack. 
The  man  she  loved  the  best. 

"The  Kaiser,  though  by  craft  beguiled. 
Was  not  to  vengeance  stirred. 
And  watched  the  train  as  it  defiled, 
Nor  stopped  it,  saying  as  he  smiled, 
'A   Kaiser   keeps   his   word.'  "* 

Emperor  Frederick  Barbarossa. — In  1146 
Bernard  of  Clairvaux  preached  the  Second  Cru- 
sade in  Speyer,  and  Conrad  put  on  the  Crusader's 
mantle,  and,  with  his  young  nephew,  Frederick 
Barbarossa  —  the  famous  Redbeard  —  and  an 
army  of  seventy  thousand  knights,  started  for 
Palestine.  Many  misfortunes  befel  and  it  was  a 
reduced  and  disheartened  company  that  returned 
the  following  year  only  to  find  civil  strife  again 
enkindled  in  Germany. 

In  1 152  Conrad  died,  and  Frederick  Barba- 
rossa began  his  eventful  reign.  The  history  of  this 
Suabian  House  now  becomes  general  history,  for 
the  exploits  of  these  Hohenstauffen  Emperors 
were  of  world-wide  significance,  and  it  is  a  uni- 
versal   interest    that    is    felt    in    the  traditional 


*Theodorc  Tilton,  in  Suabian  Stories. 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  19 

awakening  of  the  sleeping  Redbeard,  when  the 
fullness  of  time  calls  for  a  renewal  of  his  earthly 
warfare.  Far  happier  might  have  been  the  per- 
sonal fate  of  these  brilliant  Emperors  could  they 
have  curbed  their  ambitions  and  resisted  the  lure 
of  Italian  conquest  and  interference,  which  led 
so  soon  to  their  race  extinction.  Great  was  their 
prowess  and  skilful  their  marital  diplomacy,  but 
the  fatal  triumphs  across  the  Alps  led  quickly  to 
battle,  murder  and  sudden  death. 

Frederick  Barbarossa  was  one  of  the  most  en- 
lightened and  powerful  rulers  who  ever  swayed 
an  imperial  sceptre.  High  on  a  lance  before  the 
door  of  his  tent  hung  his  shield,  a  sign  that  he 
was  ready  upon  summons  to  redress  all  wrongs. 
Six  times  he  crossed  the  Alps  at  the  head  of  an 
army,  striking  terror  into  Rome  itself,  making 
and  deposing  Popes,  violating  the  sanctuary  of 
St.  Peter,  and  driving  all  enemies  before  him. 
He  has  been  called  the  first  free-thinker  of  mod- 
ern times,  having  declared  that,  as  he  had  been 
this  far  the  anvil,  he  now  meant  to  be  the  ham- 
mer of  the  church.  In  his  German  dominions 
there  was  but  little  peace,  the  House  of  Welf 
of]Eering  continual  combat.  Only  in  11 84  could  a 
great  Festival  of  Peace  be  celebrated  in  Mainz. 
On  Whitsuntide  of  that  year  almost  the  whole 
knighthood  of  the  West  gathered  around  the 
Emperor,  who  entertained  the  large  company 
during  three  days.  Encamped  on  the  river  bank, 
the  spectacle  of  glittering  armor  and  high-born 
dames,  of  the  tournaments  and  joyous  feasting, 
must  have  been  most  dazzling    to    a    beholder. 


20  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

During  the  festival  the  Emperor's  two  young  sons 
received  their  spurs  of  knighthood. 

A  time  of  true  peace  followed,  broken  by  the 
news,  which  fell  like  a  thunder  bolt,  that  Jerusa- 
lem had  been  captured  by  the  Turks.  Pope 
Gregory  VIII.  called  all  Christendom  to  the  res- 
cue, and  Emperor  Frederick  responded  with  a 
large  army.  As  usual,  misfortune  and  sufferings 
were  their  lot.  Hostile  Greeks,  and,  worse  still, 
famine  and  disease — foes  which  no  bravery  could 
subdue — fell  upon  them.  Through  Emperoi 
Frederick's  valor,  however,  Iconium  was  taken, 
and  the  army  was  proceeding,  when  sudden  death 
bereaved  the  hosts  of  their  beloved  leader.  A 
plunge  on  horseback  In  a  cold  stream  killed  him, 
and  the  sorrowing  army  left  his  body  behind  In 
Antloch. 

Succeeding  Emperors. — Two  sons  succeeded, 
Henry  VI.,  who  married  the  heiress  of  Sicily  and 
added  Southern  Italy  and  Sicily  to  his  dominions, 
and  Philip.  The  history  of  the  latter  Is  veiy  dra- 
matic. Educated  as  a  priest  and  made  Bishop  of 
Wiirzburg,  he  was  called  by  his  brother,  Henry 
VI.,  to  re-enter  the  world  and  assume  the  duties 
of  Duke  of  Suabia.  Soon  succeeding  his  brdther 
as  Emperor,  he  was  suddenly  murdered  in  1208. 
His  wife,  the  beautiful  Irene,  was  she  of  whom 
Walter  von  der  Vogelwelde  sang  in  sweetest 
tones  as  the  "Rose  without  a  Thorn."  Examples 
they  were  of  true  domestic  happiness  and  high- 
born refinement. 

Great  was  the  lamentation  when  this  beloved 
ruler  was  so  cruelly  slain.     One  of  his  monkish 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  21 

companions,  according  to  Belschner,  laments  him 
thus:  ''Howlike  a  shiningstar  art  thoufallen  from 
Heaven,  thou  jewel  among  kings!  The  sun  has 
gone  down  and  it  is  night."  Queen  Irene  died 
two  months  later  of  a  broken  heart. 

Frederick  II.,  son  of  Henry  VI.,  was  again  a 
World-Emperor,  being  one  of  the  most  remarka- 
ble figures  of  the  Middle  Ages  in  his  character 
of  Emperor,  knight,  scholar  and  philosopher;  the 
greatest  ruler  between  Charlemagne  and  Napo- 
leon. Master  of  the  six  languages  of  his  realm, 
he  was  also  famous  as  a  minnesinger,  excelled  in 
all  knightly  exercises  and  prowess,  and  wrote  be- 
sides elaborate  treatises  on  natural  history  and 
philosophy.  Educated  in  Sicily,  where  he  held  a 
court  renowned  for  chivalry  and  culture,  he  was 
above  the  simpler  standard  of  Germany,  and  the 
history  of  his  deeds  and  life  do  not  properly  be- 
long to  Wiirtemberg,  except  for  this  kingdom's 
pride  in  this  imperial  scion  of  their  Suabian  House. 
Most  of  his  life  was  spent  in  Italy,  while  his  son, 
Conrad,  assumed  the  duties  and  responsibilities 
of  the  Suabian  realm.  Because  of  the  bitter  en- 
mity between  the  Pope  and  the  Emperor,  all  the 
dominions  of  the  latter  were  put  under  the  Papal 
ban,  and  Germany  lost  both  faith  and  religion 
during  the  struggle. 

Frederick  died  in  1250,  and  his  son,  Conrad, 
went  into  Italy  to  acquire  his  inheritance  there, 
but  died  in  1254,  leaving  his  young  son,  Conradin, 
and  youngest  brother,  Manfred,  the  last  of  the 
Hohenstauffen  race.  Manfred  was  crowned  King 
of  Sicily,  where  he  held  a  court  renowned  for  its 


22  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

culture  and  chivalry,  until,  in  1265,  he  met  a  he- 
ro's death  in  battle  against  his  foe,  Charles  of 
Anjou,  who  incarcerated  Manfred's  sons  for  life. 
The  character  of  Charles  was  vindictive.  A 
writer  says:  "  Manfred  was  cruel  also,  but  on 
the  tomb  of  the  Suabian  hero  the  tears  of  genera- 
tions have  fallen.  Friendship  was  the  jewel  of 
the  Hohenstauffen  kings." 

This  left  Conradin  alone  in  the  struggle,  and 
right  manfully  did  the  noble  youth  play  his  part. 
Forced  on  the  defensive  at  the  tender  age  of  ten, 
at  seventeen  he  crossed  the  Alps  at  the  head  of  an 
army,  made  a  triumphal  entrance  into  Rome,  and 
forced  Charles  of  Anjou  to  a  battle.  Defeated  by 
a  cunning  stratagem,  he  was  taken  prisoner, 
basely  betrayed  and  beheaded  at  Naples,  1268. 
With  him  the  Royal  House  of  Hohenstauffen 
became  extinct. 


CHAPTER  III 
The  House  of  Wurtemberg 

"Then  take  ye  heed,  aha!  take  heed 
Ye  knaves  both  North  and  South. 
For  many  a  man  both  bold  in  deed 
And  wise  in  peace  the  land  to  lead, 
Old  Suabia  has  brought  forth!" 

— Schiller. 

The  downfall  of  the  Hohenstauffens  plunged 
southern  Germany  into  a  sad  period  of  rulerless 
civil  strife,  doing  which  the  House  of  Wiirtem- 
berg  steadily  increased  in  power,  riches  and  do- 
main.    Its  early    history    is  all    uncertain.     An 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  23 

inscription  on  one  of  the  stones  which  formed 
a  part  of  the  old  Castle  chapel  on  the  Rothen- 
berg,  shows  that  that  part  of  the  ancestral  build- 
ing was  consecrated  in  1083,  ^^^  hereafter  we 
find  occasional  mention  In  the  chronicle  of  cer- 
tain Counts  of  Wiirtemberg  playing  parts  in  the 
troublous  history  of  those  times.  Clever  states- 
manship, personal  courage,  thrift  and  ambition 
seem  to  have  been  conspicuous  family  virtues, 
with  the  result  that,  in  1240,  we  find  Count  Ul- 
rich  with  the  Thumb  already  a  power  in  the 
land. 

Eberhard  the  Noble  (1265-1325)  was  no 
friend  of  the  people,  and  the  cities  waged  long 
and  constant  strife  against  his  masterful  demands, 
but  at  his  death  he  left  a  largely  increased  fam- 
ily domain.  This  Count  had  for  his  motto:  "A 
friend  of  God,  but  enemy  to  all  the  world." 

Count  Eberhard  II.  (1344-1392)  ruled  in  try- 
ing times.  Beside  constant  civil  warfare,  he  had 
to  contend  with  the  disastrous  earthquake  of 
1348,  and  in  the  next  year  appeared  the  black 
plague  in  all  its  virulence,  carrying  off  great  num- 
bers of  the  inhabitants.  In  the  search  for  a  cause 
for  this  pestilence  arose  the  merciless  persecutions 
of  the  Jews,  who  were  accused  of  having  poisoned 
the  springs,  and  thousands  of  this  o.utlawed  race 
were  seized  and  burnt  in  the  Wiirtemberg  cities. 
Another  disturbing  element  was  the  fanatical 
army  of  Flagellants,  which  streamed  over  the 
country,  arousing  the  wildest  emotions  and  lead- 
ing to  great  disorders. 

The  Suabian  Alliance. — During  the  unsettled 


24  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

conditions  of  the  realm,  while  popes  and  emper- 
ors were  at  strife,  and  princes  fought  for  domina- 
tion, another  power  was  quietly  developing,  that 
of  the  free  towns.  From  the  days  of  the  Ro- 
mans until  the  Eleventh  Century  there  had  been 
no  question  of  German  communities,  but  there- 
after this  growth  had  been  rapid,  and  as,  by  the 
nature  of  things,  town  rights  must  conflict  with 
the  prerogatives  of  the  princes,  feuds  were  en- 
gendered and  a  new  and  lively  element  introduced 
into  the  civil  conflicts.  The  beginning  of  the 
Town  Wars  was  in  the  year  1349,  when  many  of 
the  Suabian  cities  united  in  an  alliance  against 
some  of  the  most  hated  of  the  Wiirtemberg  no- 
bility. From  this  time  on  there  was  continuous 
strife,  and  in  1376  fourteen  cities  united  to  form 
the  famous  "Schwabische  Bund,"  by  which  the  im- 
perial free  towns  united  in  self-defense  against 
the  exactions  of  the  nobles.  These  latter  feder- 
ated their  forces,  and  the  country  was  desolated 
by  civil  strife. 

As  many  as  forty-one  cities  joined  the  alliance, 
whose  hopes  were  strengthened  by  the  news  of  the 
victory  of  the  Swiss  over  Leopold  of  Austria.  It 
was  a  critical  period  for  the  liberties  of  Wiirtem- 
berg; either  the  towns  or  the  nobility  must  be 
victorious  and  gain  supremacy.  The  decisive  bat- 
tle was  fought  near  Doffinger  in  1388,  and  it  was 
Count  Eberhard  II.  whose  personal  efforts  and 
prowess  turned  the  tide  of  affairs  and  gained  an 
overwhelming  victory  for  his  side  over  the  Alli- 
ance, which  for  a  time  re-established  princely  au- 
thority. 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  25 

Count  Eberhard  the  Mild  (1392-1417)  suc- 
ceeded; then  Eberhard  IV.  (1417-1419).  A 
regency  under  the  Queen-mother,  Henrietta,  fol- 
lowed, but  in  1 44 1  the  land  was  divided  be- 
tween the  two  sons  of  Eberhard  IV. ;  one,  Lud- 
wig,  making  Urach  his  capital,  the  other,  Ulrich, 
holding  his  court  at  Stuttgart. 

Eberhard  im  Bart. — In  1457  began  the  reign 
of  Eberhard  V.,  known  in  history  as  Eberhard  im 
Bart,  who  reunited  the  kingdom  and  became  the 
first  Duke  of  Wiirtemberg.  This  ruler  was  the 
most  beloved  of  the  Wiirtemberg  princes,  and 
around  his  person  and  reign  gather  hosts  of 
homely  and  romantic  traditions,  since  wrought 
into  innumerable  ballads  sung  and  loved  in  all 
Suabian  households.  He  is  regarded  as  the 
George  Washington  of  his  country,  who  estab- 
lished it  in  the  ways  of  peace  and  orderliness,  and 
prepared  land  and  people  for  the  troublous  times 
just  ahead.  Assuming  rule  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen, he  made,  nine  years  later,  a  voyage  to  Pales- 
tine, and  at  Jerusalem  took  the  vows  of  knight- 
hood at  the  Holy  Sepulchre. 

Of  this  trip  he  is  said  to  have  brought  home 
three  mementoes,  viz.,  his  beard,  which  some  tra- 
ditions make  grow  to  his  feet;  the  palm  tree, 
which  he  hereafter  bore  on  his  coat-of-arms,  to- 
gether with  the  motto  Attempto  (I  dare)  ;  and 
the  white  thornbush  he  planted  in  a  churchyard 
near  Tubingen.  His  leading  characteristics  were, 
his  piety,  his  true  care  for  his  people  and  for  their 
education,  and  his  self-sacrificing  zeal  for  their 
benefit.    His  wife  was  Barbara  Gonzaga  of  Man- 


26  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

tua,  a  true  and  beloved  helpmeet  during  all  his 
reign.-  The  most  important  features  of  his  rule 
were  the  Miinsiger  Treaty,  establishing  the  suc- 
cession of  the  eldest  of  the  ducal  family  to  the 
throne;  the  founding  of  the  University  of  Tu- 
bingen in  1479,  and  his  exaltation  to  an  esteemed 
and  elevated  place  in  the  German  realm.  His 
valuation  of  the  love  of  his  people  and  his  confi- 
dence in  their  loyalty  are  shown  by  the  incident  at 
his  ducal  coronation  at  Worms  in  1495,  told  in 
Kerner's  popular  ballad,  and  given  later  in  these 
pages.  Their  devotion  to  him  may  be  gathered 
from  the  saying  said  to  have  been  current  among 
them:  "If  the  Lord  God  was  not  our  God  then 
our  Duke  would  be  our  God."  ''Small  in  per- 
son, great  in  heart,  the  ornament  of  his  royal 
race,"  was  also  said  of  him.  He  died  in  Tu- 
bingen in  1496. 

"He  was  the  Duke  whose  narrow  land 
So  broadened  underneath  his  hand. 
That,  as  his  coronet  passed  down, 
It  grew  and  brightened  to  a  crown. 
Nor  has  there  reigned  in   Suabia   since 
A   king   so   royal    as    this   prince, 
Who,  with  so  small  a  state, 
Made  it  so  proud  and  great." 

Duke  TJlrich.— After  three  years  of  insignifi- 
cant rule  by  Duke  Eberhard  II.,  followed  the 
long  reign  of  Duke  Ulrich.  These  were  stirring 
times  everywhere,  and  many  storms  broke  over 
Wiirtemberg.  It  was  the  century  of  the  Refor- 
mation, and  this  independent,  simple  realm  was 
from  the  beginning  a  stronghold  of  the  new  faith. 
Ulrich  began  his  reign  gloriously.  In  less  than 
two  years  he  had  added  more  to  his  domain  than 


IN  SUABIA-LAND 


27 


had  any  of  his  predecessors  during  the  past  one 
hundred  years.  Of  winning  personality,  tall  of 
stature,  strong  of  limb,  with  blue  eyes,  curly  blond 
hair  and  red  beard,  his  was  a  fiery,  unsubdued, 
wilful  life  until  long  wanderings  and  misfor- 
j^  tunes  brought  wisdom,  and  the  turn  of  afEairs 
caused  him  to  be  regarded  as  the  father  of  his 

ppeople.  In  15 14  the  war  known  as  that  of  the 
"Arme  Conrad"  broke  out.  This  was  a  brother- 
hood to  which  neither  the  wealthy  nor  the  beggar 
were  admitted,  and  sprung  out  of  dissatisfaction 

lover  the  increased  taxes  and  oppression  caused  by 

itJlrich's  extravagance  and  debts.  The  members 
wore  a  white  cross  on  their  mantle  as  a  dis- 
tinguishing sign  and  rose  in  open  revolt.  At 
Remsthal  a  company  of  the  rioters  seized  the  new 
weights — for   Ulrich   had   put   a   tax   on   bread, 

|flesh  and  wine — and,  throwing  them  in  the  Rems, 
shouted:     "If  the  peasants  are  right,  sink  to  the 
Dttom;  if  the  Duke  is  right,  swim  on  top!"  Nat- 

|urally  the  iron  sank  and  depredations  followed. 
The  result  was  the  Tubingen  Treaty,  which  has 
been  called  the  Wiirtemberg  Magna  Charta,  for 

lit  obtained  for  the  people  many  privileges  in  re- 

|turn  for  the  payment  of  the  Duke^s  debts. 

Ulrich  had  married  Sabina  of  Bavaria,  but 
detested  her,  and  his  evil  conduct  in  this  regard 
brought  about  a  decision  from  the  Council  of  the 

I'realm  that  he  must  leave  the  country  for  six  years, 
v^hich  was  later  amended  by  permission  to  re- 
lain,  but  to  reign  only  under  an  appointed  re- 
gency. An  assault  on  the  town  of  Reutlingen 
aroused  the  ire  of  the  Suabian  Alliance,  which 


28  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

assembled  a  great  force  at  Ulm,  and  marched 
against  the  Duke,  who  in  less  than  ten  weeks  lost 
his  entire  land.  Circumstances  ofEered  him  a  sec- 
ond chance,  but  he  listened  to  evil  counsel,  again 
oppressed  the  people,  and  was  again  expelled. 

In  1520  the  Emperor  of  Austria  seized  Wiir- 
temberg  in  payment  of  the  220,000  gulden  war 
debt  and  added  it  to  the  domains  of  the  House 
of  Austria,  under  whose  rule  it  remained  until 
1534.  During  these  years  Ulrich  was  a  homeless 
wanderer,  hidden  away  in  caves  or  sojourning 
with  foreign  princes.  This  is  the  period  which 
Hauff's  novel,  Lichtensteiuj  has  so  vividly  por- 
trayed. In  1524  the  formidable  "Peasants  War" 
broke  out,  the  result  of  a  demand  for  greater  re- 
ligious freedom.  When  that  was  denied  them,  a 
spirit  of  communism  developed  and  great  devas- 
tation of  land  and  destruction  of  property,  as  well 
as  life,  followed.  In  the  war  the  Duke  was  pop- 
ularly known  as  "Bauer  Utz." 

Duke  Christopli  and  Later  Dukes. — Ulrich 
died  in  1550,  and  his  son,  Duke  Christoph  (1550- 
1568)  succeeded  him.  Separated  from  his  mother, 
alienated  from  his  father,  Christoph  had  been 
brought  up  in  the  Austrian  service.  Emperor 
Karl,  wishing  to  make  Wiirtemberg  a  perpetual 
addition  to  his  realm,  endeavored  to  confine  the 
young  heir  in  a  cloister,  but,  through  the  devoted 
services  of  his  teacher,  Michael  TifEerny,  his 
escape  was  accomplished  and  he  found  refuge  in 
Bavaria  until  his  accession.  The  state  of  the 
country  at  this  period  was  pitiful,  being  encum- 
bered  with   great   debts   and   evil  customs,   and 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  29 

there  was  little  courage  among  the  leaders. 
Chrfstoph  proved  to^be  the  right  Duke.  He  sup- 
ported the  Reformation,  established  schools  and 
fostered  education,  winning  a  warm  place  in 
the  hearts  of  his  subjects. 

Of  the  Dukes  which  followed  there  need  be 
little  recorded.  They  were  mainly  insignificant, 
not  knowing  how  to  control  the  distress  of  the 
times,  and  in  some  cases  greatly  aggravating  the 
troubles.  The  Thirty  Year's  War  devastated 
the  land,  famine  and  pestilence  were  its  com- 
panions, and  the  population  was  reduced  in  a  few 
years  from  340,000  to  48,000  souls. 

The  most  sorrowful  point  in  Wiirtemberg's 
history  was,  however,  reached  during  the  reign  of 
Duke  Eberhard  Ludwig  (1677- 1733)  whose 
mistress,  the  Countess  von  Gravenitz,  and  her 
family,  plunged  the  realm  into  an  era  of  shame 
and  extravagance.  Under  his  successor,  Duke 
Karl  Alexander,  the  hated  Jew,  Suss  Oppen- 
heimer,  wrought  great  financial  ruin,  so  exasper- 
ating the  people  that,  in  1738,  he  was  hanged  in 
Stuttgart  in  an  iron  cage  suspended  from  a  high 
gallows.  These  Dukes  were  all  great  castle  build- 
ers. They  lived  luxuriously,  so  that  the  Court  of 
Wiirtemberg  was  the  most  sumptuous  in  Europe. 
Most  of  the  beautiful  pleasure-houses,  theatres, 
parks  and  public  buildings  we  now  see  were  of 
their  creation. 

Duke  Karl  (1737-1793)  established  the  Mili- 
tary Academy  of  Karlsruhe,  and  in  the  latter  part 
of  his  reign  greatly  fostered  the  growth  of  pub- 
lic education  and  stimulated  commerce  and  art. 


30  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

He  died  in  1793,  and,  after  the  short  reigns 
of  his  two  brothers,  his  nephew,  Duke  Frederick 
II.,  soon  to  be  King  Frederick  I.,  began  his  rule. 

King  Frederick  I. — Says  an  historian :  'With 
great  strides  had  history  gone  forward  in  this 
last  decade,  and  with  it  on  its  irresistible  march 
had  carried  little  Wiirtemberg."  Duke  Frederick 
tried  hard  to  remain  neutral  when  war  between 
Austria  and  France  broke  out,  but  Napoleon  ap- 
peared himself  in  Ludwigsburg,  and  declared 
concisely:  ''It  must  be  with  or  against  me."  An 
alliance  was  concluded.  Early  in  1806  General 
Morois,  Napoleon's  adjutant,  announced  in 
Stuttgart  the  Peace  of  Preszburg,  and  the  eleva- 
tion of  Wiirtemberg  to  the  rank  of  a  kingdom. 
Its  soldiers  had  gained  fame,  decorations  and  high 
position,  through  their  great  bravery  and 
"Schwabenstreiche"  in  the  war,  but  there  was 
discontent  and  bitterness  of  heart  over  their  po- 
sition in  arms  against  their  brother  people. 

In  1809  Wiirtemberg  was  increased  to  its  pres- 
ent dimensions  by  Napoleon,  and  had  then  a  pop- 
ulation of  i,4CX),ooo.  In  18 1 3  the  battle  of 
Leipzig  brought  the  French  Alliance  to  an  end, 
and  Wiirtemberg  made  a  "Holy  Alliance"  with 
Austria  and  Russia  in  the  cause  of  German  free- 
dom.  . 

King  William  I. — King  Frederick  I.  died  the 
year  after  the  battle  of  Waterloo  (1815),  and 
was  succeeded  by  William  I.  (i  816- 1864),  whose 
long  reign  was  a  time  of  peace  and  prosperity.  A 
new  constitution  was  established,  the  law  of  suc- 
cession fixed,  and  rights  of  conscience,  equality  of 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  31 

legal  rights  and  freedom  of  the  press  were 
granted.  He  was  accorded  the  title  of  *'The 
Just,"  and  his  memory  is  greatly  treasured  by  his 
country.  His  will  contained  the  following  sen- 
tences: "I  have  always  lived  for  the  Unity,  In- 
dependence and  Glory  of  Germany;  above  all 
of  my  beloved  Wiirtemberg.  Hail  to  my  Father- 
land for  all  future  time!"  His  two  wives,  Kath- 
erine  of  Russia  and  Pauline  of  Wiirtemberg,  did 
much  to  relieve  the  poor  of  the  kingdom,  and 
many  hospitals,  schools  and  other  charitable  in- 
stitutions owe  their  endowment  to  these  queens. 

King  Karl  and  William  II. — The  succeeding 
reign  of  his  brother.  King  Karl  (  1 864-1 891 ),  was 
likewise  good  and  happy.  He  mounted  the 
throne  with  the  declaration:  "While  I  hold  the 
reins  of  government,  I  trust,  above  all,  in  the 
help  of  God  who  will  give  me  strength  to  conse- 
crate my  life  to  the  welfare  of  the  country."  His 
queen,  Olga  of  Russia,  also  busied  herself  with  . 
charities  and  endeared  herself  greatly  to  the  peo- 
ple. During  these  reigns  the  commerce  and  indus- 
tries of  the  realm  greatly  increased  and  schools 
and  institutions  for  higher  and  for  industrial  edu- 
cation have  been  firmly  and  universally  estab- 
lished. Since  January,  1871,  when  King  Wil- 
liam of  Prussia  was  proclaimed  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many at  Versailles,  Wiirtemberg  has  been  part  of 
his  realm. 

King  Karl  was  succeeded  in  October,  1891, 
by  King  William  II.,  the  present  ruler  of  Wiir- 
temberg; he  was  born  in  1848  in  Stuttgart. 
His  first  consort  was  Princess  Marie  of  Waldeck 


3a  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

Piedmont,  and  his  second  is  Princess  Charlotte 
of  Schaumberg  Lippe.  He  is  a  friend  of  peace,  a 
supporter  of  church  and  school,  a  promoter  of  art, 
agriculture,  trade  and  commerce,  and  under  him 
the  kingdom  is  making  rapid  advance  in  indus- 
trial prosperity. 


CHAPTER  IV 
Household  Ways  and  Social  Customs 

In  the  beautiful  castle  gardens  in  Stuttgart  is 
a  life-size  marble  group,  by  Paul  Miiller  (1881), 
representing  Count  Eberhard  im  Bart  asleep, 
with  his  head  on  the  lap  of  a  young  peasant.  The 
story,  like  that  of  King  Alfred  the  Great  and  the 
griddle-cakes,  is  so  well  known  and  accepted  as 
to  be  deemed  historical.  When  Count  Eberhard 
was  created  Duke,  there  sat  at  the  festal  board, 
in  the  Emperor's  banqueting  hall  at  Worms, 
many  other  German  princes,  who  each  in  turn 
boasted  of  the  superior  riches  of  his  respective 
kingdom.  The  Prince  of  Saxony  claimed  moun- 
tains full  of  precious  silver;  he  of  the  Rhine 
boasted  of  golden  harvests  and  rich  mines;  while 
Ludwig  of  Bavaria  praised  his  rich  cloisters  and 
great  cities. 

"Eberhard,   surnamed  'The  Bearded,* 
Wurtemberg's    beloved    lord, 
Said,   'My   land  hath  no  great  cities, 
In  its  hills  no  silver  hoard. 

"But  it  holds  one  hidden  treasure, 
That,    in  deepest  forest  shade, 
On  the  lap  of  any  subject. 
Fearless,  I  can  lay  my  head.* 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  33 

"Cried    the    listening    Princes    round    him, 
Saxony,  Bavaria,   Rhine, 
'Bearded  Count,  thy  land  is  richest. 
Where  such  precious  jewels  shine.'  " 

That  this  remains  the  land's  most  cherished 
tradition,  and  Kerner's  simple  ballad  Der  Reichste 
Filrst  is  still  the  toast  song  at  all  patriotic  gather- 
ings, speaks  much  for  the  continued  simplicity 
and  sincerity  of  Wiirtemberg  ideals.  A  writer 
says  that  this  tale  "is  the  keynote,  even  to-day, 
of  the  relation  between  prince  and  people  in 
Suabia."'  Universal  is  the  affection  felt  for  the 
royal  household,  whose  characteristics,  at  least 
for  the  past  century,  have  been  simplicity  and 
an  earnest  devotion  to  the  welfare  of  their  sub- 
jects. The  court  at  Berlin  has  not  the  same  per- 
sonal interest  for  them;  that  is  rather  reserved 
for  show  occasions  and  remains  remote  from  their 
daily  lives  and  thoughts,  while  the  plain,  every- 
day going  out  and  in  among  them  of  their  own 
good  king  and  queen  fills  their  hearts  with  an 
honest  satisfaction  and  quiet  devotion.  Prince 
Bismarck  was  a  prime  favorite,  and  many  of  the 
slippers  and  sofa  cushion  covers  that  went  to 
him  on  his  birthdays  were  the  handiwork  of  de- 
voted admirers  among  the  Suabian  dames. 

Agriculture  and  Living. — Agriculture  is  the 
chief  occupation  in  Wiirtemberg ;  its  people  labor 
hard  with  but  scanty  results.  This  may  account 
for  the  universal  simplicity  of  family  and  social 
life  within  its  borders.  A  pious,  sentimental 
gemiithlich  folk,  sincere  and  lovable  in  their  daily 
incomings  and  outgoings,  devoted  to  their  God, 
their  King  and  their  hearths,  they  are  industri- 


34  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

Gus,  contented  and  passionately  attached  to  their 
own  beloved  *'Schwabenland."  Possessing  no 
large  commercial  cities  like  those  of  North  Ger- 
many, the  smaller  towns  still  remain  almost  me- 
dieval in  appearance  and  conditions,  and  there 
are,  therefore,  many  refreshing  experiences  pos- 
sible for  those  willing  to  forego  for  a  time  the 
more  luxurious  conveniences  of  modern  inven- 
tions. 

The  general  custom  of  living  in  small  flats 
reduces  the  extent  of  the  cities'  area,  and  towns  of 
considerable  population  remain  cramped  almost 
within  ancient  boundaries.  This  '*flat"-life 
seems  simpler  and  more  cooperative  than  with  us. 
While  class  divisions  exist,  based  upon  culture 
and  vocation,  there  is  a  simple  friendliness  be- 
tween all  classes,  and  customs  which  have  the 
authority  of  centuries  regulate  the  courtesies  of 
domestic  and  neighborly  intercourse.  A  cause 
of  some  embarassment  to  the  stranger  is  the 
general  absence  of  janitors.  One  needs  to  be 
most  careful  to  inquire  and  note  on  just  which 
floor  one's  friend  lives,  or  be  forced  to  apply  at 
numerous  doors  of  private  apartments,  with  the 
consequent  uncertainty  of  pleasant  reception.  As 
most  of  the  rooms  on  each  flat  open  into  the  one 
hall,  with  no  private  vestibule,  the  awkwardness 
of  indiscriminate  knocking  is  easily  apparent. 
Each  floor  keeps  its  own  hall  and  stairway  clean, 
and  each  in  turn  assumes  the  care  for  a  week  of 
the  front  door  and  pavement.  This  is  called  the 
Kehrwoche,  and  frequently  a  framed  bulletin, 
more  or  less  ornate,  often  an  effort  of  native 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  35 

wit,  is  hung  in  the  lower  hall  and  designates 
each  floor's  responsibility. 

Quite  customary  is  it  for  the  different  occu- 
pants to  share  the  daily  paper,  passing  this  on  at  a 
certain  hour,  either  above  or  below  as  the  ar- 
rangement may  be.  Life  is  simplified  by  the 
plainness  of  the  furnishing  of  the  average  dwell- 
ing. The  floors  are  generally  bare  with  rugs, 
often  of  home  manufacture,  and  the  furniture 
is  substantial  but  not  excessive.  The  living- 
room,  or  parlor,  contains  always  the  sofa,  which 
plays  so  important  a  part  in  social  etiquette,  some 
tables  and  straight-backed  chairs,  and  generally 
a  piano.  Rockers  are  almost  unknown.  Dining- 
room  and  bed-room  furniture  are  strictly  to  the 
purpose,  and  Americans  would  notice  the  absence 
of  lace  draperies  at  the  windows.  This  sim- 
plicity means  more  leisure  for  the  Hausfrau,  and 
she  is  generally  found  well-read  enough  to  be 
interesting,  can  always  play  a  little  on  some  in- 
strument, and  often  sings  or  paints,  while  in  sum- 
mer she  gives  herself  up  to  a  genuine  enjoyment 
of  Nature  and  "the  simple  life,"  the  whole  family 
cooperating. 

The  flat  kitchens  are  tiny  affairs  and  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  cooking  is  in  keeping.  Baking  is 
seldom  done  at  home,  a  coarse  brown  baker's 
bread — often  thickly  bestrewn  with  kiimmel 
seeds — being  the  universal  choice.  The  pies,  pud- 
dings and  cakes  of  America  are  unknown  to  Ger- 
man cookery.  Pancakes,  pot  roasts,  salads,  soup 
and  preserves  are  the  staples  of  domestic  economy 
and  enjoyment.     There  are  four  meals  a  day. 


36  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

Breakfast  is  early  and  consists  of  coflEee,  bread, 
butter  and  honey ;  dinner  is  at  noon ;  vesperbrod 
at  half-past  three  o'clock,  and  at  half-past  six 
comes  supper,  usually  a  cold  meal. 

The  general  wash-kitchen  is  frequently  in  the 
cellar,  and  here  take  place  the  activities  of  the 
various  quarterly  w^ashdays  of  the  different  fam- 
ilies. Fire  is  kept  up  all  day  on  the  brick  hearth, 
over  which  is  a  built-in  kettle.  The  clothes  are 
boiled,  washed  three  times  with  the  hands  (for 
the  Yankee  washboard  is  unknown),  laid  in  water 
over  night,  then  rinsed,  blued,  wrung  out  and 
hung  up  until  the  next  day.  As  one  Waschfrau 
could  not  get  through  with  a  three  months'  wash 
in  one  day,  several  are  employed,  and  the  chat- 
ter and  clatter  make  this  a  lively  occasion. 

Many  families  do  the  ironing  themselves,  by 
degrees,  and  the  mangle  is  a  much-used  domestic 
article.  This  quarterly  substitute  for  our  weekly 
washday  necessitates  an  extensive  wardrobe,  and 
it  is  not  only  the  acquisition  of  from  three  to  six 
dozen  of  each  article  of  underwear  that  must  oc- 
cupy the  minds  and  hands  of  Fraus  and  Frauleins, 
but  a  room  must  be  spared  by  each  family  in 
'  which  the  soiled  garments  are  suspended  until  the 
day  of  their  purification.  This  is  known  as  the 
room  of  the  Schwarzewasche,  and  often  several 
are  grouped  together  in  the  attic.  Under  these 
circumstances  underwear  is  apt  to  be  plain  and 
strong  rather  than  dainty.  Each  town  has  its 
public  fountains,  with  arrangements  for  the  wash- 
ing of  clothes,  and  picturesque  groups  can  often 
be  seen  dipping  and  rubbing  in  these  public  pools. 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  37 

The  transient  visitor  can  be  quite  sure  that  the 
garments  confided  to  the  hotel  Waschfrau  take 
part  in  some  such  sociable  immersion. 

The  "Kranz.'' — Most  of  the  social  life  among 
Suabian  women  is  in  the  form  of  what  we  call 
clubs,  or  reading  circles,  known  there  as  the 
Kranz.  The  word  means  a  wreath,  and  each 
member  is^upposed  to  be  a  bud  in  this  particular 
garland!  Generally  formed  during  school  days, 
it  often  exists  until  death  or  removal  breaks  up 
the  circle.  The  most  intelligent  and  active  women 
often  belong  to  several — to  an  English  and  a 
French  Kranz,  meeting  once  a  week  and  reading 
English  or  French  literature  aloud,  or  to  others 
where  music,  or  art,  or  some  kind  of  social  diver- 
sion forms  the  program.  I  remember  one  of  three 
old  ladies,  all  over  seventy-five,  the  survivals  of 
the  Kranz  of  their  girlhood,  who  still  met  fort- 
nightly, when  infirmities  and  the  weather  did  not 
interfere,  to  discuss  current  events.  Think  how 
many  "mutations  of  time  and  mutations  of 
thought"  have  come  up  for  their  consideration 
during  this  half-century! 

The  meetings  are  in  the  afternoon  at  the  differ- 
ent homes  in  turn.  Arriving  at  about  half-past 
two  o'clock,  the  "buds"  arrange  themselves,  each 
with  their  sewing,  around  a  large  table  already 
spread.  One  reads  aloud,  and,  when  it  is  time 
for  the  Vesper-meal,  coffee  is  brought  in  with 
buns  or  cake,  or,  most  frequently,  a  Hafen  Kranz, 
a  large  loaf  of  plain  baker's  cake  baked  in  a  hol- 
low mold,  its  top  sprinkled  with  nuts  and  sugar; 
also  some  preserves  or  fruit.     I  have  known  an 


38  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

orange  to  be  divided  into  its  eight  or  more  natural 
divisions,  and  these  put  on  a  plate  to  be  passed 
around*  to  the  guests.  As  oranges  are  a  luxury 
and  incomes  small,  this,  surely,  was  an  exquisite 
instance  of  simple  hospitality.  After  the  coffee, 
work  and  the  book  are  resumed. 

One  striking  characteristic  of  these  meetings,  to 
me,  was,  the  apron,  an  article  of  the  wardrobe 
highly  valued  among  German  women  as  combin- 
ing utility  and  personal  adornment.  Most  re- 
markable of  construction  were  they!  Many  were 
made  of  black  alpaca,  embroidered  or  trimmed 
with  lace  and  ribbons,  not  strong  in  the  bib,  nor 
valuable  as  regards  size,  but  wondrous  samples 
of  needle  work  and  artistic  ingenuity.  On  sum- 
mer days  the  Kranz  will  often  make  excursions 
and  walk  to  pleasant  spots  in  the  environs,  where 
it  will  encircle  with  its  '*buds"  (always  equipped 
with  apron  and  fancy  work),  one  of  the  out-of- 
door  cafe  tables  sure  to  be  found  in  every  attrac- 
tive spot,  and  there  carry  out  the  accustomed  pro- 
gram. 

Suabian  Hospitality. — Besides  the  Kranz,  the 
daily  Vesper-meal  gives  opportunities  for  an  easy 
hospitality.  Privileged  to  be  admitted  into  a 
much-esteemed  family  of  high  social  position, 
though  of  reduced  income,  my  welcome  into  the 
best  society  of  the  pleasant  Suabian  town  was 
most  hearty,  and  toward  the  close  of  my  sojourn 
there,  when  personal  acquaintance  had  been  made 
and  my  ears  were  opened  and  my  tongue  some- 
what loosed,  every  afternoon  found  me  with  an 
engagement  zum  Kaffee,     The  program  differed 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  39 

with  the  age  and  circumstances  of  the  hostess. 
Never  was  it  a  gay  revel,  but  a  succession  of  pleas- 
ant glimpses  into  the  simple,  sincere,  home-life, 
not  without  its  dangers  to  the  foreigner  of  mis- 
takes in  native  etiquette,  and  possible  consequent 
wounding  of  the  sensibilities  of  one's  hostess. 

There  is  considerable  traditionary  etiquette  in 
Suabian  hospitality,  and  the  recipient  of  so  much 
courtesy  naturally  desires  to  show  no  less  good 
breeding  in  return,  if  only  aware  of  the  proper 
form  for  it.  The  language  gives  them  the 
first  opportunity.  From  perference,  among 
the  older  ladies  at  least,  the  Suabian  dialect  is 
used  in  all  familiar  conversation,  and,  when  one 
to  whom  that  is  an  unknown  tongue  joins  the 
company,  the  others  must,  to  quote  their  own 
words,  "get  up  on  stilts.'*  Not  so  easy  is  it  to 
manage  the  sofa  and  the  first  cup  of  coffee.  The 
former  is  the  seat  of  honor,  but  one  must  not  be 
easily  persuaded  of  one's  worthiness  for  the  dis- 
tinction. Social  precedence  is  well  understood  by 
the  natives,  and,  after  much  pretended  demur,  the 
coveted  seat  is  generally  occupied  by  the  right 
person,  unless  the  interloping  foreigner,  wonder- 
ing all  the  while  why  the  most  uncomfortable  of 
all  places,  a  high,  haircloth  sofa  should  be  forced 
upon  her,  fails  to  notice  the  true  importance  of 
the  matter,  and  lets  herself — though  the  young- 
est in  the  room,  and  with  never  a  'Von"  to  her 
name,  nor  an  ancestral  coronet  on  her  handker- 
chief— be  too  easily  persuaded  into  usurpation  of 
another's  rights.  The  same  courtesy  must  be 
gone  over  again  with  the  first  cup  of  coffee. 


40  IN  SUABIA-LAND  '      ^ 

"While  the  napkin  is  coming,  the  soup  becomes  cold, 
While  the  bonnet  is  trimming,  the  face  grows  old," 

says  the  old  ditty,  and  sometimes  the  first  cup  of 
coffee  at  a  Wiirtemberg  Vesper-brod  is  far  from 
steaming  when  finally  appropriated. 

A  different,  but  no  less  real,  predicament,  is 
that  caused  by  the  custom  of  serving  the  preserves 
with  small  silver  knives,  or  two-pronged  forks, 
practice  alone  making  this  table-habit  easy  of  per- 
formance, though  the  knife  is  not  meant  to  be 
put  to  the  mouth. 

While  the  collation  is  never  elaborate,  there 
are  dishes  more  or  less  familiar  and  pleasant  to  the 
foreign  palate.  The  anticipation  of  sour-cream 
pie,  for  instance,  is  not  always  the  joy  it  is  sup- 
posed to  be,  and  when  one  detests  the  taste  of  the 
kiimmel  seed  and  does  not  enjoy  beer,  the  simple 
hospitality  which  offers  beer,  brown  bread  and 
radishes  to  the  guest,  is  not  without  its  discom- 
fort, especially  as  the  only  token  of  appreciation 
accepted  as  satisfactory  is  that  of  a  hearty  appe- 
tite. To  ask  for  a  drink  of  cold  water  instead 
of  the  beer  would  be  most  impolite,  and  less  than 
two  pieces  of  sour-cream  pie  would  pronounce  the 
hostess's  table  to  be  a  failure. 

Here  arises  another  dilemma  for  those  of  lim- 
ited eating  capacity.  Etiquette  for  the  hostess  is 
to  press  upon  the  guest  all  the  viands  continually. 
Etiquette  for  the  visitor  is  never  to  leave  a  morsel 
uneaten  on  the  plate.  Conversation  is,  there- 
fore, somewhat  hampered  by  the  necessity  of 
guarding  one's  plate  from  surreptitious,  hospitable 
overloading.     Of  true  and  abundant  hospitality 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  41 

there  is  never  any  question;  their  best  is  always 
yours  and  is  offered  with  a  kindness  of  heart  and 
charming  sincerity  of  manner  that  must  awaken  a 
responsive  pleasure. 

The  conversation  interests;  of  unkind  gossip 
there  seems  no  hint,  and  the  talk  is  guided  into 
channels  pleasant  to  the  foreign  visitor.  Few 
have  travelled  widely,  but  all  know  well  their 
own  land  and  its  historic  traditions  and  land- 
marks. Of  other  countries  ideas  are  necessarily 
more  hazy,  although,  like  the  Yankee,  all  *Vant 
to  know."  In  bidding  farewell  to  me  one  dear 
old  lady  whispered:  "Be  good  to  the  Indians," 
and  there  seemed  a  doubt  in  the  mind  of  some 
whether  my  skin  was  dark  enough  for  a  real 
American. 

The  men  have  there  vereins,  or  clubs,  and  sel- 
dom do  the  two  sexes  mingle  socially  in  these 
quiet  circles.  Perhaps  the  small  scale  of  the 
dwellings  is  responsible  for  this,  and  perhaps  this 
fact  increases  the  pleasure  of  the  summer  outing, 
when  the  families  meet  constantly  at  the  open-air 
cafes  found  on  every  side.  Men  do  not  call  on 
ladies  unless  their  intentions  are  serious.  Another 
custom,  the  reverse  of  ours — and  consequently  a 
trap  for  the  foreigner — is  that  the  men  must 
speak  first  on  the  street. 

Also,  a  stranger,  when  she  comes  into  the 
town,  must  make  first  calls  on  the  friends  of  her 
friends,  or  on  those  who  pay  her  the  compliment 
of  inviting  her  to  call;  and  these  will  at  once 
return  the  visit.  The  people  are  very  fond  of  mu- 
sic and  there  are  many  oratorio  societies  and  sing- 


42  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

ing  classes.  Bach's  Passion  music  is  given  on 
Good  Friday  in  the  Stuttgart  Stiftskirche.  The 
theatres,  too,  are  good  and  much  frequented. 


CHAPTER    V 
Religion,  Funerals  and  Weddings. 

To  an  outside  observer  piety  seems  to  be  a 
prominent  characteristic  of  Wiirtemberg.  "Griiss 
Gotf'  is  the  familiar  salutation  heard  constantly 
on  the  streets,  and  the  airs  of  the  old  hymns  float 
through  the  town  several  times  daily.  Family 
worship  and  grace  said  before  and  after  meals 
are  customary.  The  latter  is  most  frequently 
said  by  the  children,  one  of  whom  arises  and 
reverently  repeats  the  quaint  form  of  thanks 
which  has  served  for  many  generations.  The 
kingdom  is  Protestant,  and  was  a  stronghold  for 
the  Reformation.  This  is  no  wonder,  after 
such  long  abuse  at  the  hands  of  unfriendly  Popes, 
whose  continued  interdict  accustomed  the  people 
to  do  without  their  spiritual  guidance,  and  bred  a 
sturdy  opposition  and  independence  that  must 
need  think  and  act  for  itself. 

Under  the  constitution  the  King  is  the  guar- 
dian and  director  of  the  Evangelical  Church,  and 
seventy  per  cent,  of  the  population  is  Protestant. 
The  almost  universal  custom  of  trombonists  play- 
ing chorals  from  the  top  of  a  high  tower  three 
times  a  day  must  affect  the  daily  thoughts  of  the 
population.  Sometimes  they  play  from  a  church 
tower;   sometimes  from  one  given  up  to  the  resi- 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  43 

dence  of  the  town  fire-watchman,  who  walks 
around  the  four  sides  of  the  balcony  outside  his 
lofty  abode  every  quarter  of  an  hour  during  the 
night  on  the  alert  for  fires,  calling  out,  in  some 
places,  an  old-time  verse,  in  others  merely  the 
customary  ''all's  well."  In  case  of  fire  the  bells 
are  rung,  and  sometimes  guns  are  fired  from  sur- 
rounding hills.  At  sunrise  the  trombonists  come 
out  and  greet  the  day  with  several  verses  of  a 
choral.  This  they  do  again  at  noon  and  at  even- 
ing-time. Well  do  all  the  people  in  the  town  be- 
low know  and  love  these  old  chorals,  and  on  the 
streets  and  in  the  homes  the  pious  words  are 
softly  hummed,  and  praise  to  God  ''for  His  good- 
ness to  the  children  of  men"  rises  from  many 
hearts.  The  effects  on  the  stranger  of  this  Chris- 
tian muezzin  call  is  distinctly  religious  and  im- 
pressive. 

The  Church. — The  Church,  too,  is  intimately 
interwoven  with  the  daily  life  of  the  people,  not 
that  so  many  services  are  held — Sunday  morn- 
ing attendance  fulfills  for  most  that  duty — but  all 
belong  to  the  congregation,  and  all  have  personal 
relations  with  the  staff  of  pastors  who  serve  over 
the  large  parishes.  These  churches  receive  gov- 
ernment support,  and  while  there  are  few  to  a 
city,  these  are  large  and  have  a  number  of  pas- 
tors in  charge.  The  Herr  Dekan  holds  the  su- 
perior position;  then  the  Herr  Stadt  Pfarrer, 
Herr  Ober  Hilfer,  Herr  Hilfer,  and  the  Stadt- 
vikar.  In  the  country  one  man  serves  and,  some- 
times, he  even  has  several  contiguous  charges. 
Pews  are  not  owned,  but  all  seats  are  free  and  all 


44  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

classes  mingle  together.  There  Is  no  liturgy;  the 
service  begins  by  singing  a  hymn,  during  which 
the  preacher,  In  black  gown,  enters  and  the  audi- 
ence rises.  After  prayer  and  the  reading  of  the 
Gospel,  all  sit  down  for  the  sermon.  After  this 
Is  recited  the  ''Vater  Unser'  (Lord's  Prayer), 
and  during  this  the  church  bell  is  tolled,  so  that 
all  kept  at  home  may  know  and  participate;  a 
custom,  this,  especially  dear  to  the  sick  and  aged. 
Prospective  marriages  are  then  called  and  the 
couples  prayed  for.  No  collection  Is  taken,  but 
outside  the  church  door  is  placed  a  box,  in  which 
all  drop  something,  the  contents  going  to  some 
outside  benevolence  previously  noticed  from  the 
pulpit.  At  the  installation  of  a  new  pastor  he 
must  read  his  Lebenlauf,  I.  e.,  relate  all  the  in- 
cidents of  his  past  life,  and  tell  all  his  family  his- 
tory and  present  circumstances;  Introduce  him- 
self and  family,  as  it  were,  to  his  new  parish- 
ioners. Sunday  School  Is  held  In  the  afternoon  In 
the  parish  house. 

The  observance  of  the  Sabbath  in  Wiirtemberg 
is  quite  different  from  that  In  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic kingdoms,  yet  Is  the  day  not  kept  as  in 
England,  for  example.  In  the  morning  It  Is  the 
general  custom  to  attend  church  and  frequently 
is  the  long  sermon,  with  its  old  time  divisions, 
reaching  often  to  the  seventhlies,  gone  over  and 
discussed  at  the  noonday  meal. 

After  this  the  day  is  given  over  by  most  to 
general  relaxation.  The  old  ladies  often  take  up 
their  knitting,  social  visits  are  made  and  families 
unite  for  Vesperbrod.     In  pleasant  weather  ex- 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  4S 

cursions  are  made  to  the  country,  the  parks,  or  the 
environs,  where  the  cafe  tables  keep  filled  with 
happy,  orderly  crowds.  In  the  country  the  men 
go  to  the  village  inn,  where,  seated  at  long  bare 
tables,  they  sing  choruses  between  their  glasses 
of  beer.  All  is  quiet  and  decorous,  and  Sun- 
day a  much  prized  holiday. 

Funerals. — Funerals  have  a  most  general  ob- 
servance. Owing  to  the  small  rooms,  which  can 
accommodate  so  few  of  the  many  who  wish  to 
pay  their  last  respects  to  the  dead,  the  main  ser- 
vice is  held  at  the  churchyard,  the  friends  meeting 
at  the  house  and  forming  a  procession,  which  fol- 
lows the  body  on  foot  to  the  grave.  Sometimes, 
after  the  cofEn  is  committed  to  the  grave,  the  con- 
course goes  to  the  church  for  a  sermon.  During 
the  whole  time  that  the  slow  procession  is  walk- 
ing from  the  house  to  the  churchyard  the  church 
bell  tolls,  or  chorals  are  played  from  the  tower. 
During  the  dark  and  dreary  days  of  winter,  when 
deaths  are  most  frequent,  this  incessant,  slow  toll- 
ing of  the  bell,  telling  its  tale  of  the  sad  proces- 
sional, is  far  from  cheerful.  One  who  is  not  ac- 
customed to  it  is  apt  to  resent  so  much  demand 
on  one's  sympathies  and  the  constant  turning  of 
one's  thoughts  into  sorrowful  channels.  In  the 
country,  where  ancient  superstition  longer  pre- 
vails, there  are  many  curious  funeral  customs. 

Weddings. — Most  interesting  of  all  are  the 
wedding  customs,  in  which  the  national  senti- 
mentality can  find  fullest  expression.  An  en- 
gagement is  almost  as  binding  as  a  marriage,  and 
is  seldom  broken.    Announcement  cards  are  sent 


46  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

out  by  the  parents  of  the  contracting  parties,  or 
the  betrothal  is  formally  published  in  the  news- 
papers, .  From  the  moment  of  the  engagement 
until  the  wedding  ceremony  is  performed,  the 
girl  is  a  "bride"  and  almost  delirious  is  the  ex- 
citement and  adoration  she  now  excites  among  her 
friends. 

There  are  many  more  girls  than  men  in  the 
towns,  such  numbers  of  the  sterner  sex  being  in 
the  enlisted  service  of  their  country,  and  to  be 
verlobt  is  a  rare,  and,  accordingly,  highly  prized, 
circumstance,  which  entitles  the  favored  one  to 
unlimited  congratulations  and  good-natured 
envy.  The  happy  couple  are  expected  to  be  con- 
spicuously sentimental,  and  seldom  are  those  ex- 
pectations disappointed. 

Next  to  being  one's  self  a  bride,  the  most  desir- 
able event  in  life  in  South  Germany  is  to  be  in- 
vited to  participate  at  a  wedding.  The  invita- 
tions are  never  very  general  and  the  favored 
guests  usually  know  long  in  advance  of  their  pros- 
pective inclusion  in  the  joyous  party,  and  can  thus 
widely  inform  their  friends  thereof,  an  essential 
preparatory  for  their  own  share  in  the  pleasures  of 
the  hour.  The  ceremony  is  performed  in  church 
and  generally  in  the  late  morning.  Sometimes 
the  procession  rides,  often  it  walks,  a  pretty  pic- 
ture in  the  narrow,  quaint  old  streets,  too  cus- 
tomary to  excite  disturbance.  The  bride  is  not 
always  in  white  dress,  but  wears,  without  fail, 
the  long  veil  and  orange  blossoms,  while  brides- 
maids are  fondest  of  pink  and  blue.  The  guests 
wear  their  simple  best,  natural  flowers  often  in 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  47 

their  hair,  and  carry  stiff  bouquets  encircled  with 
lace  paper. 

The  service  Is  no  short  affair;  marriage  is  evi- 
dently too  solemn  an  event  to  be  so  lightly  ac- 
complished. Several  hymns  are  sung,  prayer 
made,  and  a  discourse,  called  the  Rede,  preached 
to,  or  at,  the  happy  couple.  The  church  presents 
a  Bible  as  a  wedding-gift,  and  all  guests  drop 
money  Into  a  box  placed  prominently  on  a  chair 
in  the  aisle,  the  contents  to  be  given  to  some  be- 
nevolent object.  The  wedding  dinner  is  gener- 
ally eaten  at  a  hotel  or  country  inn,  and  is  not 
formal. 

Wedding  presents  have  all  been  sent  before- 
hand to  the  home  of  the  bride ;  now  it  is  the  turn 
of  her  guests.  During  the  morning  their  friends, 
long  made  aware  of  the  anticipated  occasion,  have 
sent  in  to  the  hotel  packages  Individually  ad- 
dressed. After  the  repast  is  over,  the  toasts 
drunken,  the  much  decorated  wedding  cake  cut 
and  its  ring  acquired,  the  waiters  bring  these 
packages  Into  the  room  in  large  baskets  and  dis- 
tribute them  according  to  the  addresses,  each 
guest's  portion  being  called  his  or  her  Strauschen, 
or  bouquet.  These  are  now  opened.  Some  con- 
tain handsome  gifts,  others  only  kindly  jokes; 
most  of  them  are  simple  tokens  of  friendship.  Al- 
most all  are  accompanied  by  original  verses,  which 
are  read  aloud  and  add  much  to  the  enjoyment 
of  the  company.  Then  may  follow  an  entertain- 
ment gotten  up  by  the  bridesmaids  and  grooms- 
men, on  whom  falls  the  responsibility  of  this  part 
of  the  festivity,  and  who  have  been  for  weeks 


4  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

planning  and  rehearsing.  This  is  often  an  orig- 
inal play  based  on  some  incidents  in  the  career  of 
one  or  the  other  of  the  bridal  pair,  or  an  allegory, 
of  which  the  Germans  are  exceedingly  fond.  The 
guests  remain  long  after  the  departure  of  the 
newly-wedded  couple,  now  no  longer  "bride"  and 
"groom,"  and  the  day's  dissipation  is  usually  con- 
cluded by  a  dance. 


CHAPTER   VI 
Holidays  and  Festivals 

The  unity  of  family  life  is  a  noticeable  Suabian 
characteristic.  The  aged  are  treated  with  a 
reverence  and  attention  that  are  very  tender, 
and  they  in  turn  enter  with  hearty  sympathy  into 
the  sports  of  the  young.  Grandfather  and  grand- 
child hop  around  to  the  strains  of  their  beloved 
waltz  in  the  parlors  of  country  inns,  or  at  sum- 
mer resorts,  absolutely  unconscious  of  anything 
but  their  own  enjoyment.  Birthdays  and  anni- 
versaries are  pleasant  events,  celebrated  by  fam- 
ily reunions  when  the  children  recite  original 
verse  and  act  simple  charades  for  the  entertain- 
ment of  their  elders,  while  all  unite  in  playing 
active  games  and  dancing.  During  the  day  not 
only  do  relatives  and  friends  bring  presents,  for 
which  a  table  hung  with  garlands  has  been  ar- 
ranged, but  acquaintances  made  a  point  of  calling 
to  offer  congratulations. 

Christmas  and  Easter. — Christmas  is,  of 
course,  the  great  festival  of  the  year.     In  Wiir- 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  49 

temberg  it  is  preeminently  a  religious  festival, 
celebrated,  however,  in  the  home.  All  the  joy 
and  the  good  things  come  from  the  ''Christ-kind," 
and  when  the  families  gather  under  the  lighted 
TannenbaumX^x  tree), whose  evergreen  branches 
stretch  over  the  Putz^  and  the  Christmas  gifts  are 
laid  below,  they  listen  to  the  recital  from  some 
member  of  the  household — preferably  one  of  the 
children — of  the  story  of  Christ's  birth  in  a 
manger  and  the  joy  of  the  shepherds  over  the 
angelic  message.  Then  Christmas  hymns  are 
sung:  ''O  Du  frohlichel  O  Du  selige!  Gnade 
bringt  die  Weihnachtszeit/^  or  Luther's  hymn, 
^'Vom  Himmel  hoch  da  komm  ich  her!'  etc.  In 
some  simple  country  districts  the  Christ-child 
himself  is  sometimes  represented,  but  generally, 
when  fun  and  frolic  call  for  a  visible  embodi- 
ment of  the  Christmas  joy,  it  is  ''Prinz  Ruprecht" 
who  appears  as  the  children's  friend  and  benefac- 
tor. Cooking  and  baking  have  absorbed  the  pre- 
vious days;  a  goose,  if  possible,  graces  the  festal 
board,  and  little  cakes,  Lebkuchen  and  Springerle, 
are  sent  around  to  neighbors  and  given  gener- 
ously to  children. 

The  Christmas  festival  embraces  three  days. 
The  25th  of  December  is  the  Weihnachtsfest;  the 
26th  its  first,  and  the  27th  its  second,  holiday. 
New  Year's  day  has  no  special  observance,  but 
the  sixth  of  January  is  the  Erscheinungsfest 
(Epiphany),  and  mummers,  dressed  up  as  "Wise 
Men,"  go  about  singing  and  receiving  gifts. 

Easter,  besides  its  religious  significance  and  ob- 
sejv.^ace^,  is  the  festival  pf  the  hare,  to  whom  is 


50  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

attributed  all  the  kindly  and  homely  offices  which 
bring  joy  to  the  children  and  their  sympathizing 
elders.*  His  ginger-bread  counterfeit  dominates 
in  all  the  shop  windows,  and  is  likewise  omni- 
present in  china,  wool,  metal  and  paper  repre- 
sentations. On  Easter  morning  children  throng 
the  parks  and  retired  places,  searching  for  the 
small  packages  of  eggs  and  bon-bons  which  the 
kindly  disposed  may  have  hidden  under  bushes, 
or  behind  trees,  in  the  name  of  the  friendly  hare. 
''Have  you  seen  the  rabbit  anywhere?"  greeted 
me  from  many  an  excited  group  as  I  came  down 
a  wooded  hillside,  after  fulfilling  my  part  of  the 
surprise  program,  and  when  I  said,  truthfully, 
"Yes,  up  there  it  went,"  the  rush  upward  was 
immediate.  Even  in  lands  of  their  adoption  the 
Suabians  observe  this  custom  of  the  rabbit  hunt. 

Other  Holidays. — There  are  many  other  holi- 
days and  religious  and  patriotic  memorials.  In 
summer  these  are  given  up  to  out-of-town  excur- 
sions and  jollifications.  Especial  occasions  of 
family  reunion  are  the  Kirchwethfests,  the  annual 
celebrations  of  the  anniversary  of  the  consecration 
of  the  different  churches.  These  are  held  on  Sun- 
day and  are  merry  affairs,  bringing  together  the 
scattered  branches  of  families  who  return  to  hon- 
or the  church-home  of  their  childhood.  The  great 
national  festival  is  the  Cannstatt  Volksfest,  held 
on  the  27th  of  September,  King  William  I.'s 
birthday.  Great  crowds  gather  at  this  time,  and 
games,  races  and  various  shows  occupy  several 
days.  The  different  trades  give  representations 
and  rival  each  other  in  the  wit  and  display  of 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  51 

their  productions.  This  Volksfest  has  its  echoes 
wherever  outside  the  Fatherland  Suabians  have 
made  their  home. 

Village  Festivals. — Each  village  of  any  con- 
sequence is  entitled  to  hold  a  yearly  fair,  on  a  set 
date,  and  is  then  called  a  Marktfleck,  One 
large  enough  to  have  a  church  vv^ith  its  own  pas- 
tor is  a  Pfarrdorfj  and  the  name  of  the  village, 
and  the  two  designations,  Marktfleck  and  Pfarr- 
dorf,  with  the  number  of  the  regiments  re- 
cruited from  it,  are  all  on  the  local  signboards. 
Larger  towns  have  several  fair  days  in  the  year, 
and  at  those  times  the  streets  are  full  of  wooden 
booths,  or  tents,  from  which  country  people  sell 
all  manner  of  wares,  made  by  themselves  or 
procured  on  commission  from  the  stores,  and  itin- 
erant shows  and  fakirs  amuse  the  crowds  gath- 
ered for  the  Jahrmarkt,  Each  town  and  village, 
too,  has  its  May  festival,  when  sports,  races  and 
competitions  for  the  schoolchildren  are  held  on 
the  common,  and  a  procession  and  prize-giving 
are  included  in  the  program.  These  are  pleasant 
occasions  for  the  visiting  stranger ;  so  many  peas- 
ant costumes  and  unusual  sights  and  sounds  can 
be  seen  and  heard,  and  the  jollity  is  so  general 
and  genuine  as  to  be  contagious. 

Costumes  of  the  Peoples. — The  quaint,  local 
costumes  of  former  times  are  not  often  to  be  seen 
on  the  streets,  except  in  certain  districts.  The  av- 
erage peasant  woman  wears  a  cotton  frock  and  a 
three-cornered  handkerchief,  or  nothing  at  all, 
on  her  head.  In  Betzingen  a  beautiful  local  cos- 
tume can  be  seen.    The  men  wear  short  jstckets, 


52  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

called  Wamms,  and  long,  tight  trousers,  or  a  coat 
with  long  tails,  reaching  nearly  to  the  ground, 
over  a-  bright  red  vest,  buttoned  by  a  close  row  of 
small  silver  buttons.  Sometimes  coat  and  trous- 
ers are  black,  but  in  summer  the  youths  wear 
them  of  white,  homespun  linen  and  a  small,  round 
white  cap  is  worn  jauntily  on  the  head.  The 
women's  caps  are  of  peculiar  shape,  the  rim  gen- 
erally of  a  fine  purple  and  black  check,  and  the 
inside  of  pleated  black  silk,  with  long  black  rib- 
bons down  the  back.  Young  and  old  wear  their 
hair  in  long  braids.  The  skirts  are  black,  short 
and  full,  edged  with  gold  braid,  black  velvet,  or 
bright  colored  ribbon.  The  bodice  is  laced  with 
gold  braid  and  a  gay-colored,  short,  top  jacket  is 
worn  over  full  white  sleeves.  Rows  of  beads  and 
bands  of  black  velvet  ribbon  are  worn  around  the 
neck,  Low  shoes  and  open-work,  white  stock- 
ings complete  the  costume. 

Another  dress  seen  in  the  Black  Forest  has  a 
very  bright,  colored  apron  over  a  short  skirt,  a 
waist  with  curiously  shirred  and  stuffed  sleeves, 
and  a  little  black  cap,  decorated  with  gold  em- 
broidery and  four  long  moire  ribbon  streamers. 
Near  Allerheiligen  the  costume  is  a  full  short 
plisse  skirt,  full  white  sleeves  and  short  bodice, 
with  real  tatting  lace  pleated  in  the  neck,  and  a 
large  white  straw  hat  decorated  with  three  red 
rosettes. 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  53 

CHAPTER  VII 
Some  General  Customs 

One  of  the  constant  and  entertaining  diver- 
sions of  Wiirtemberg  to  the  visitor  is  the  local 
newspaper.  This  is  highly  prized  and  univer- 
sally read,  and  is  a  popular  means  of  communi- 
cating every  kind  of  personal  item  that  one  may 
desire  to  share  with  a  sympathetic  public.  Hans 
inserts  a  naive  notice  of  his  betrothal  to  Gretchen. 
Frau  Julie  R.,  Wittwe  (widow),  and  her  five 
sorrowing  children,  publish  under  their  signa- 
ture an  announcement,  heavily  framed  in  black 
lines,  of  the  demise  of  their  lamented  husband 
and  father,  not  sparing  any  particulars  of  his 
death  and  prospective  burial,  and  often  adding 
where  and  how  his  business,  now  interrupted, 
will  in  the  future  be  carried  on.  Katrina  cor- 
dially thanks  her  friends  for  sending  her  bouquets 
on  some  occasion,  or  helping  her  through  a  mov- 
ing, etc.  In  villages  without  a  daily  newspaper 
there  is  the  town  crier,  who  daily  breaks  the 
monotony  of  the  hours  by  his  loud  announce- 
ment, first  ringing  his  big  bell  to  secure  an  audi- 
ence of  any  official  or  local  news  that  has  been 
given  him  to  cry.  Sometimes  it  is  an  enactment 
of  the  village  fathers,  sometimes  a  piece  of  news 
of  national  interest,  again  it  may  be  a  lost  or 
found  proclamation;  while  often  it  is  an  an- 
nouncement that  some  one  in  the  neighborhood 
has  just  killed  a  calf,  portions  of  which  are  now 
for  sale! 

Education  is  well  cared  for  in  Wiirtemberg. 


54  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

A  school  must  be  provided  for  every  thirty  fam- 
ilies and  attendance  is  compulsory.  French  and 
English  are  important  parts  of  the  curriculum, 
and  the  long  list  of  Latin  words  brought  home 
for  commitment  each  night  by  a  palefaced  boy 
of  nine  aroused  my  constant  sympathy.  The 
children  study  hard  and  the  hours  seem  long. 
There  was  an  unnatural  demureness  about  some 
of  these  children.  A  frequent  sight  in  my  daily 
walks  was  that  of  a  long  row  of  little  girls  stand- 
ing with  their  backs  to  a  wall  knitting,  while  at 
the  same  time  they  were  watching  younger 
brothers  and  sisters  at  play  around  them. 

The  Soldiers. — Soldiers  are  not  seen  in  great 
numbers;  one  grows  familiar  with  the  uniforms, 
but  is  not  continually  under  the  shadow  of  the 
army.  In  the  spring,  when  examinations  for  ser- 
vice in  the  army  and  navy  are  held,  the  country 
is  flooded  with  the  young  Recruten,  who  are 
privileged  to  go  about  for  several  weeks  before 
the  time  in  gangs  and  allowed  to  make  all  the 
noise  they  wish.  These  wander  from  tavern  to 
tavern,  generally  by  cross-cuts  through  woods 
and  across  hills,  whistling  or  singing  choruses, 
bright-colored  paper  rosettes  and  streamers  float- 
ing from  their  hats.  At  first  there  seemed  some- 
thing riotous  in  the  tramping  throng,  but  more 
frequent  contact  revealed  the  rural  awkwardness 
and  homesickness  behind  the  apparent  bravado; 
while  the  songs,  which  a  stranger  might  imagine 
to  express  only  the  bloodthirstiness  of  coming 
warfare,  proved  to  be  the  ballads  of  Uhland,  even 
one  so  tender  and  touching  as  "The  Landlady's 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  55 

Daughter."  Hauff,  in  his  novel  of  Ltchtenstein, 
alludes  to  these  choruses  and  quotes  the  follow- 
ing as  one  often  heard  on  the  banks  of  the  Neck- 
ar: 

"Scarcely  thought 
To  its  end,  lo!  joy  was  brought! 
Yesterday  on  proud  steeds  hieing; 
Shot  to-day  the  heart  through;    lying 
In  to-morrow's  chilling  grave. 

"But  yet   say, 
'All  earth's  transports,  what  are  they? 
Pride  ye  on  your  beauty's   blowing? 
Cheeks  with  milk  and  purple  glowing?* 
See,  the  roses  wither  all! 

"Therefore  still 
March  I  forth  as  God  shall  will. 
Hear  I  then  the  trumpets  calling, 
Comes  the  moment  of  my  falling, 
I  will  die  a  soldier  brive." 

The  singers  were  young  Suabians  about  to  en- 
ter the  service  of  their  beloved  Fatherland. 

Titles  of  Classes. — Apart  from  the  nobility 
there  is  a  decided  class  distinction,  its  full  intri- 
cacies presenting  many  difficulties  to  an  outsider, 
who  is  appalled  by  the  extreme  importance  of 
the  etiquette  of  titles. 

Mdme.  de  Stael  says  that  all  over  Germany 
a  wife  insists  upon  taking  the  title  of  her  hus- 
band with  a  feminine  termination.  Thus  to  the 
ordinary  difficulties  of  the  German  language  must 
be  added,  even  in  familiar  conversation,  the  ne- 
cessity of  addressing  one's  new  acquaintances  as 
Frau  Stadt  Pfarrer  A.,  Frau  Ober  Consistorial 
Rath  B.,  etc.  The  substitution  of  Gnadige 
Frau  (Gracious  Lady),  or  Hochgeborener 
Herr  (High  Born  Sir),  is  a  way  out  of  the  se- 
rious difficulty  that  here  besets  the  foreigner,  but 


56  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

one  that  does  not  come  easy  to  a  democratic 
American.  This  last  mode  of  address  has  a  posi- 
tive, comparative  and  superlative  form.  Wohl- 
geboren  w^ill  do  for  a  merchant,  Hochgebor- 
ener  for  one  of  the  lesser  nobility,  and  Hoch- 
wohlgeborener  for  one  of  the  higher.  This  is 
the  proper  form  of  address  in  correspondence, 
and  opens  up  a  way  for  many  astute  flatteries 
from  tradesmen,  etc.  The  prefix  *Von"  indi- 
cates aristocracy  of  birth,  and  those  entitled  to  it 
may  rightfully  have  a  coronet  embroidered  on 
their  handkerchiefs. 

The  seriousness  of  this  question  of  titles  w^as 
borne  in  upon  me  one  day  when,  after  a  railway 
journey  to  find  a  certain  official  who  could 
give  me  some  important  desired  information, 
I  was  prevented  from  applying  to  him  by  my 
accompanying  Fraulein,  because  she  heard  he  had 
recently  been  promoted,  but  could  not  ascer- 
tain his  proper  present  title.  To  insult  him  by 
the  old  one  was  impossible,  and  we  journeyed 
home  again  without  the  desired  information. 

Appearance  of  the  Country. — Country  life  in 
Wiirtemberg  differs  greatly  from  that  in  most 
other  lands,  owing,  probably,  to  the  fact  that 
there  are  so  few  large  country  estates.  The  land 
is  divided  into  many  small  farms  or  holdings,  in- 
stead of  being  in  the  possession  of  large  land 
owners,  and  dirty  villages  with  communal  farms 
are  to  be  seen  instead  of  large,  well-kept  estates 
and  their  dependent  tenantry.  Women  do  heavy 
work  in  the  field,  and  there  can  but  be  dirt  and 
discomfort  in  the  homes  when  the  mother  must 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  57 

spend  her  day  in  hard  manual  labor  outside.  The 
only  refuge  for  the  men  is  the  village  inn,  never 
an  attractive  place  from  an  aesthetic  point  of 
view,  and  one  can  understand  the  reason  for 
Mdme.  de  Stael's  commentary  that  "stories,  beer 
and  smoke  of  tobacco  surround  all  the  common 
people  of  Germany  with  a  thick  atmosphere  which 
they  are  never  inclined  to  escape." 

The  eye  is  struck  by  the  absence  of  horses  and 
cattle  in  the  country  landscape.  Oxen  are  a  fre- 
quent substitute  for  the  former  in  the  field  ser- 
vice, and  dogs  pull  many  of  the  carts,  while 
women  carry  heavy  loads  on  their  heads  or  push 
small  handcarts.  I  once  saw  six  small  boys 
yoked  together  pulling  a  large  hay  wagon.  The 
towns  are  too  cramped  to  need  carriages,  and  life 
too  simple  to  afford  them.  Milkmen  are  all  milk- 
women,  and  their  bright  tin  cans  are  carried  in 
handcarts  or  pulled  by  dogs.  The  thousand  hills 
are  constantly  around  one  in  this  rolling  country, 
but  no  cattle  can  be  seen  on  them.  These  are 
fed  in  their  stalls  on  a  mixed  diet,  not  always  to 
be  surmised,  supplemented  by  grass  which  the 
women  gather  and  carry  on  their  heads  ofttimes  a 
weary  way.  It  would  not  be  possible  to  turn  cat- 
tle out  in  this  fenceless  land,  where  so  much 
"richness"  in  the  way  of  beets,  beans  and  cab- 
bages covers  the  soil. 

Grass  is  at  a  premium  and  therefore  few  close- 
cut  lawns  are  to  be  seen,  thrifty  owners  prefer- 
ring a  small  income  from  the  renting  of  their 
several  longer  cuttings.  This  accounts  for  the 
usual   untidiness,   the   roadside,   churchyard   and 


58  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

all  stray  corners  being  left  for  the  general  glean- 
ing for  the  cattle.  The  result  of  this  method  is 
poor  milk  and  butter,  and  much  deprivation  for 
the  poor  cattle,  who  never  chew  their  cud  in 
green  meadows  or  wade  in  quiet  waters.  Howitt 
says,  sympathetically:  ''And  when  she  dies,  too, 
miserable  cow,  she  has  not  even  the  satisfaction 
of  dying  fat!"  Geese  are  better  treated ;  they  can 
be  kept  in  a  small  inclosure  with  only  one  goose- 
herd  to  lead  them  to  and  fro  mornings  and  even- 
ings— and  goose  livers  are  favorite  delicacies. 

Farms  and  Fruit. — Farm  implements,  as  well 
as  the  wagons,  are  exceedingly  simple,  and  there 
has,  apparently,  been  but  little  evolution  in 
their  form  and  construction,  while  the  roads 
are  generally  bad.  There  seems  to  be  a  general 
regard  for  law.  The  regulation  that  after  the 
twenty- third  of  April  no  one  can  walk  over  the 
meadows  or  grass  lands,  seems  universally  re- 
spected, and  the  unfenced,  communal,  vegetable 
gardens,  which  would  seem  to  give  such  oppor- 
tunity for  constant,  if  petty,  dishonesty  and 
thieving,  do  not  prove  occasions  of  much  strife. 

Fruit  trees  frequently  are  used  as  shade  trees 
along  the  highways,  and  the  fertile  valley  land  is 
one  great  orchard — apple,  pear  and  cherry — the 
very  abundance  being,  doubtless,  sufficient  safe- 
guard for  the  fruit.  There  are  many  ingenious 
ways  of  combining  fruit  cultivation  with  garden 
decoration.  Apricots  and  pears  are  trained  up  a 
sheltering  wall,  or  cut  down  to  straight  sticks  and 
placed  like  a  dado  around  the  house-walls.  Ap- 
ple trees  are  sometimes  cut  down  to  make  a  low 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  59 

hedge;  the  trunks,  planted  at  measured  dis- 
tances, are  divided  into  two  branches  at  about  a 
foot's  height  from  the  ground,  and  these  branches 
are  trained  along  a  wire  to  right  and  left  until 
each  meets  the  next  branch.  In  the  towns  there 
are  few  gardens;  space  does  not  permit;  but  the 
suburbs  are  bright  with  flowers  around  the  little 
homes,  and  the  larger  garden  of  a  manor  house  is 
sure  to  be  a  delight  to  any  beholder.  These  houses 
are  most  charming  to  visit,  the  refinement  of  cul- 
ture being  added  to  the  universal  grace  of  a 
simple  hospitality. 

Country  Cafes. — Instead  of  the  few  landed 
estates,  with  their  stately  homes  and  parks  as  in 
other  lands,  Wiirtemberg's  hills  and  dales  lay 
open  to  the  public  and  its  people,  and  all  visitors 
find  during  the  out-of-door  season  most  friendly 
welcome  at  the  numerous  cafes  which  fairly  cover 
the  land.  Not  a  country  inn  but  has  its  orchard 
and  garden,  the  latter  set  with  tables,  and  re- 
freshment can  be  procured  and  is  pleasantly  served 
at  most  trifling  cost.  In  many  places  there  is  a 
Tanzhoden,  or  dancing  platform,  where  families 
enjoy  waltzing  or  play  games  with  the  children, 
but  wherever  the  view  is  fine,  or  the  trees  excep- 
tionally large,  or  any  other  possible  natural  at- 
traction can  make  any  point  allure,  there  can  be 
found  some  seats  and  tables,  and  beer  or  hot 
drinks,  with  cake,  etc.,  can  be  procured  at  any 
hour.  The  very  existence  of  the  opportunity 
proves  the  demand  and  the  Suabian  love  for  Na- 
ture is  constantly  in  evidence  by  the  popularity 
of  these  country  retreats. 


6o  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

The  J'dger,  or  forester,  is  a  prominent  char- 
acter in  all  the  folk  lore,  as  much  so  as  the 
knight,  for  is  he  not  the  guardian  of  the  forest 
and  all  its  treasures?  In  present  times  he  has 
lost  much  of  the  old-time  mystery  and  popularity 
through  closer  contact  and  increase  in  numbers, 
but  is  still  a  picturesque  figure  in  his  green  uni- 
form with  jaunty  trimmings.  All  woods  are 
open  to  the  public,  and  the  system  of  forestry  does 
not  interfere  with  their  natural  growth  and 
beauty,  while  it  increases  the  accessibility  of  their 
charms. 

The  Vineyards. — Undoubtedly  the  most  strik- 
ing feature  in  the  great  Rhine  basin,  seventy  per 
cent,  of  which  is  in  Wiirtemberg,  is  the  vineyard. 
Vine  culture  is  said  not  to  be  profitable;  if  so 
the  patience  and  endurance  of  the  many  toilers 
seem  the  more  remarkable,  for  enormous  labor  is 
required  before  the  red  juice  runs  from  the 
wine-press.  The  vineyards  are  mostly  small  and 
climb  up  the  sunny  slopes  of  the  hills,  many  of 
them  veritable  hanging  gardens,  requiring  sus- 
taining walls  and  reached  by  flights  of  steep  stone 
steps,  up  which  all  needed  material  and  imple- 
ments must  be  carried  by  hand,  or  on  the  head. 
In  February,  or  March,  the  work  begins,  and 
men,  looking  from  below  like  huge  black  beetles, 
can  be  seen  bent  over  at  work  on  the  dry  vine 
stocks.  There  is  a  disappointment  in  the  ap- 
pearance of  ^Vineclad  hills,"  for  the  result  of  so 
much  cutting  and  pruning  is  that  the  soil  shows 
more  than  the  vines.    **When,"  says  Ugo  Bassi — 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  6i 

"The  grace  of  the  green  vine  makes  all  the  land 
Lovely  in   Spring  time;     .     .     . 
Till  the  fair  shoots  begin  to  wind   and  wave 
In  the  blue  air." 

the  husbandman  comes  on 

"With   pruning   hooks  and   shears, 
And  strips  it  bare  of  all  its  innocent  pride 
And  wandering  garlands,  and  cuts  deep  and  sure." 

Further  south  there  are  more  artistic  ways  of 
training  these  vines,  on  hop  poles  or  over  arbors, 
but  here  they  are  simply  planted  at  regular  dis- 
tances, kept  short  and  thick,  and  treated  only  to 
bear  grapes. 

"The  bleeding  limbs  are  hardened  into  wood; 
The  thinned-out  branches  ripen  into  fruit. 
More   full    and   precious,    to   the   purple   prime." 

At  the  time  of  the  vintage  there  is  general  re- 
joicing. Owners  of  the  several  vineyards  invite 
their  friends,  who  at  least  make  a  pretence  at 
helping  cut  off  the  grapes.  There  is  much  gaiety 
and  merriment  at  these  vintage  festivals,  and  after 
dark  the  vineyard  is  often  illuminated  and  fire- 
works are  set  off.  Most,  made  from  pears,  is  a 
drink  used  by  many  because  of  its  cheapness.  It 
is,  however,  very  sour. 

One  of  the  most  successful  government  enter- 
prizes  has  been  the  bringing  of  pure  water  from 
the  Alp,  supplying  thus  one  hundred  and  nine 
communities.  This  is  a  great  boon  and  water  is 
found  most  useful  for  many  purposes,  but  it  can- 
not be  expected  to  supplant  beer  and  wine  as  the 
preferred  drink  of  the  German  people. 


62  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

CHAPTER  VIII 
The  Neckar  Valley 

The-  time  of  all  times  for  a  visitor's  sojourn 
in  Wiirtemberg  is  in  the  spring,  for  then  this 
land  of  orchard,  meadow  and  forest  is  in  its 
fullest  glory.  The  Neckar  Valley  is  all  abloom; 
great  masses  of  white  covering  the  levels,  framed 
by  the  bright  green  of  the  young  beech  leaves  of 
the  forests  upon  the  heights.  Below  the  trees  the 
soft  grass  is  purple  with  fragrant  violets,  blue 
with  forget-me-nots  and  icylla,  yellow  with  prim- 
roses and  buttercups,  white  with  anemones  and 
daisies.  The  wisteria  twines  its  lavender  blos- 
soms along  the  roadside;  perrwinkle,  wild  hya- 
cinths, pinks  and  hosts  of  other  flowers  are  in 
bright  bloom,  while  in  the  woods  the  deli- 
cate lilies  of  the  valley  grow  profusely.  Later 
come  the  gay  poppies  and  cornflowers  in  the  field. 
Never  anywhere  could  there  be  more  profusion 
or  variety ;  not  hidden  away  for  those  who  know 
their  haunts,  but  brightening  every  spot  outside  of 
the  town  walls,  free  to  all  who  will  gather  and 
enjoy  them;  a  May  festival  of  flowers,  called  out 
by  the  bright  spring  sun  from  this  fertile  soil,  to 
greet  and  beautify  the  world.  No  wonder  every- 
one goes  a-Maying;   who  could  help  it? 

The  Rothenberg. — A  favorite  excursion  dur- 
ing blossom-time  is  up  the  Rothenberg,  on  the  top 
of  which  formerly  stood  the  ancestral  castle  of  the 
Counts  of  Wiirtemberg,  but  now  crowned  by  the 
Mausoleum  of  King  William  I.  and  his  first 
Queen  Katherine,  a  Russian  princess. 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  63 

"Aloft   where   the    Suabian    hilltops   are   serried, 
The  Suabians  carried  their  king;  to   be  buried. 
His  tomb  on  the  Rothenberg  high 
Is  capped  by  the  clouds  of  the  sky. 

"Not   first   for  himself  did   he  fashion  and   build   it, 
The  bride  of  his  youth  was  the  tenant  who  filled  it. 
Ere  he  in  his  age  when  he  died 
Was  carried  and  laid  by  her  side. 

"He  built  it  for  love,  yet  it  blazons  his  glory, 
For  all  who  behold  it,  or  hear  of  the  story, 
Give  honor,  as  honor  is  due, 
To  love  and  a  lover  so  true." 

The  chapel  is  of  Grecian  architecture  and  with- 
in are  the  four  Evangelists,  by  Dannecker.  One 
cannot,  however,  linger  long  within  the  vault 
when  without  the  beauty  of  the  springtime  is  so 
alluring.  Uhlbach,  just  below,  is  noted  for  its 
cherries,  now  in  the  stage  to  delight  the  eye 
rather  than  the  palate,  and  the  steep  little  hill- 
top is  completely  surrounded  by  a  billowy  white 
mass  of  blossoms. 

My  pilgrimage  was  made  on  May  seventh,  As- 
cension Day,  and  because  we  would  not  leave 
the  dear  old  grandmother  behind  we  went 
by  carriage.  The  road  is  steep  and  narrow, 
mounting  between  stone  walls,  and  on  this  holi- 
day it  was  a  stream  of  ascending  and  descending 
pilgrims.  Our  heavy  cab,  the  only  available  ve- 
hicle, bumped  heavily  over  the  huge  stones  and 
completely  filled  the  way,  causing  pedestrians  to 
rush  up  the  narrow  stairways  leading  to  the 
vineyards  on  either  side,  or  to  scramble  up  the 
straight  stone  walls.  It  was  a  fearful  ascent, 
tempered  by  the  beauty  of  the  view  and  the 
amusing  antics  of  the  crowd. 

Esslingen. — The  old  town  of  Esslingen,  which 


64  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

has  played  always  an  important  part  In  Suabian 
history,  is  most  beautiful  of  situation.  It  was  one 
of  the  free  imperial  towns  founded  by  Emperor 
Frederick  II.,  and  the  lion  of  Hohenstauffen  is 
still  to  be  seen  carved  on  one  of  the  old  gates  of 
the  city  wall,  portions  of  which  are  yet  standing. 
Some  interesting  medieval  buildings  remain — the 
town  hall  and  several  churches,  with  high  stone 
towers.  The  most  beautiful  of  these  is  the 
Frauenkirche,  erected  1406- 1522,  and  recently 
restored,  with  a  fine  perforated  spire. 

Esslingen  in  1900  had  over  27,000  inhabitants, 
but  its  life  seems  exceedingly  quiet  and  con- 
tracted in  comparison  with  that  of  an  American 
town  of  the  same  size.  The  streets  are  nar- 
row, crooked  and  ill-paved ;  the  buildings  unpre- 
tentious and  crowded.  Scarcely  a  horse  is  to  be 
seen,  nor  equipages  or  private  carriages.  There 
are  no  distances  to  cover ;  women,  dogs  and  small 
boys  push  the  carts  and  people  walk.  There  are 
no  large  stores  nor  any  window  displays;  only 
little  shops,  and  dress  and  its  manifold  absorp- 
tions seem  to  play,  consequently,  a  smaller 
part  in  the  daily  thought  of  the  population,  al- 
ways soberly  attired  and  paying  more  attention  to 
comfort  than  to  display.  There  is  little  walking 
on  the  streets.  One  seldom  meets  an  acquaint- 
ance, and  wonders  how  the  people  occupy  them- 
selves during  the  long  months  when  the  coun- 
try outside  is  impracticable  for  excursions.  An 
island  in  the  Neckar  is  laid  out  as  a  promenade, 
but  is  never  crowded. 

Not  far  from  the  town  is  the  royal  domain  of 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  65 

Weil,  where  the  King's  studs  are  kept,  and  the 
royal  cattle-farm  and  tree  nurseries  are  to  be 
seen,  and  annual  races  are  held. 

Charming  excursions  can  be  made  to  the  many 
royal  villas  in  the  vicinity — to  the  Rosenstein, 
built  in  the  Roman  style,  with  colonnades,  and 
filled  with  paintings ;  to  the  Wilhelma,  erected  by 
King  William  I.  in  the  Moorish  style  and  sump- 
tuously fitted  up  with  beautiful  gardens;  or  to 
the  Solitude,  the  first  seat  of  the  Karlschule, 
where  a  deer  park  and  wheycure  establishment  are 
chief  present  attractions.  Cannstatt,  half  way 
between  Esslingen  and  Stuttgart,  has  good  min- 
eral springs,  and  is  well  provided  with  all  the 
comforts  and  attractions  of  a  popular  health  re- 
sort. 

Stuttgart,  the  Capital. — Stuttgart  is  encircled 
with  gardens  and  has  much  to  interest  the  visitor. 
On  the  Schlossplatz  are  the  New  and  the  Old 
Palaces,  the  latter  a  most  picturesque  building, 
with  round  towers  and  arcades,  and,  in  the  court, 
is  an  equestrian  statue  of  Count  Eberhard  im 
Bart.  In  the  Schillerplatz  near  by  is  a  fine  figure 
of  Schiller,  by  Thorwaldsen.  Here,  too,  is  the 
Stiftskirche,  which  contains  a  number  of  monu- 
ments and  royal  tombs.  Of  particular  interest 
are  the  eleven  stone  figures  of  the  Counts  of 
Wiirtemberg,  dating  from  the  close  of  the  Six- 
teenth Century.  Up  in  its  church  tower  hangs 
"The  silver  bell  of  Stuttgart,"  accounted  one 
of  the  most  precious  heir  looms  of  the  city.  Each 
night  during  five  hundred  years,  at  nine  and  again 
at  twelve  o'clock,  has  it  been  rung  with  rapid, 


66  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

clamorous  stroke,  not  tolled.  The  bell  ringer  is 
paid  from  a  perpetual  fund,  of  which  there  is  no 
account  in  the  city's  records.  Popular  legend  has, 
therefore,  established  its  version,  according  to 
which  the  silver  bell  rings  to  quiet  the  soul  of  the 
remorseful  Ulrica,  who,  on  the  eve  before  Palm 
Sunday  in  1347,  secretly  murdered  her  mother, 
about  to  become  the  bride  of  the  girl's  own  lover. 
Distracted  by  regret  she  pined  away,  after  having 
spent  all  her  property  in  the  purchase  of  this  bell, 
and  the  perpetual  fund  which  keeps  it  sounding 
through  the  centuries. 

The  collection  of  Wiirtemberg  antiquities  in 
the  the  royal  Library  contains  articles  found  on 
the  heathen  tombs,  besides  many  other  curiosities 
of  later  date.  The  Museum  of  Art  has  an  inter- 
esting collection  of  paintings  and  plaster  casts. 
The  city  is  admirably  laid  out  and  has  a  number 
of  attractive  parks  and  a  beautiful  country  club — 
the  Silberberg. 

The  hills  above  the  city  command  most  exten- 
sive views.  An  excursion  by  a  little  railway  up 
the  Hasenberg  is  well  worth  while,  and  the  Jager- 
haus  and  Uhlandshohe,  (where  is  shown  the  poet's 
lime  tree)  are  both  beautiful  spots,  where  one  can 
sit  amid  attractive  surroundings  and  enjoy  the 
wonderful  panorama  spread  out  beneath.  From 
the  Jagerhaus  can  be  seen  the  entire  chain  of 
the  Suabian  Alb,  with  the  peaks  of  Hohenstauffen, 
Rechborg,  Hohenneuffen,  the  Achalm  and  Ho- 
henzollern.  Many  charming  places  are  within 
easy  distance  by  rail  from  Stuttgart. 

The  palace  at  Ludwigsburg,  with  its  park  and 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  67 

beautiful  pleasure  house,  ''Monrepos,"  well  re- 
pays a  visit.  This  was  founded  at  the  beginning 
of  the  Eighteenth  Century  by  Duke  Eberhard 
Ludwig,  and  has  since  been  a  favorite  royal  resi- 
dence. The  court  resided  here  during  the  days 
of  the  infamous  Countess  of  Gravenitz. 

Tubingen. — A  nearer  excursion  is  to  Tubin- 
gen, sixteen  to  twenty  miles  from  Stuttgart,  ac- 
cording to  whatever  guide-book  you  believe.  This 
old  town  crowns  a  hill  on  the  banks  of  the  Neckar 
and  the  edge  of  the  Black  Forest,  and  has  a  truly 
beautiful  natural  environment.  Its  old  portion 
is  most  quaint,  with  steep,  narrow  streets,  but  the 
quarter  about  the  New  University  is  handsome 
and  pleasant.  On  a  height  above  the  city  is  the 
old  ducal  castle  of  Hohentiibingen,  an  interest- 
ing building  of  the  Renaissance  period,  built  by 
Duke  Ulrich  in  1535.  The  exterior,  with  its  beau- 
tiful portal  and  fine  view  from  its  bastion,  are 
sufficient  attractions,  but  the  big  cask  and  the  tor- 
ture chambers  in  the  cellar  will  be  found  to  be  of 
paramount  value  in  the  mind  of  the  custodian. 
The  quaint  old  Stiftskirche  contains  some  fine 
glass  and  interesting  stone-carved  monuments  of 
some  of  Wiirtemberg's  princes.  The  University, 
which  has  given  fame  to  this  quiet  town,  was 
founded  in  1477  by  Count  Eberhard  im  Bart,  *'to 
the  honor  of  God,  for  the  encouragement,  aid 
and  strengthening  of  all  Christendom,  and  the 
praise  of  the  dukedom  of  Wiirtemberg;  to  ac- 
quire honor,  and  advantage,  and  in  the  good 
intention  of  opening  up  a  well  of  life  that  from 
all  the  evils  of  the  world  consoling  and  healing 


68  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

wisdom  may  perennially  flow  to  the  extinguish- 
ing of  the  destructive  fires  of  human  Ignorance 
and  superstition;  for  pure,  chaste  hearts  well 
pleasing  to  God  are  attained  in  no  other  way  so 
easily  and  quickly  as  through  wise  instruction." 

The  University  was  established  with  fourteen 
professorships,  and  in  the  first  year  had  three  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  students.  Among  its  earlier 
Instructors  were  the  famous  humanist,  Johann 
Reuchlin,  and  Melancthon.  The  fact  that  at  that 
time  one-half  of  the  counselors  of  the  realm  at 
Stuttgart  could  neither  read  nor  write,  and  that 
no  school  for  higher  education  existed  in  Wiir- 
temberg,  proves  the  need  of  the  University's 
founding.  Since  then  the  faculties  have  been  In- 
creased to  seven,  and  in  1902  there  were  over 
fifteen  thousand  students  In  attendance.  The 
founder  and  chief  light  of  the  advanced  school 
of  theological  criticism,  known  as  the  Tubingen 
School,  was  Frederick  Christian  Baur,  and  Its  In- 
fluence on  the  development  of  religious  thought, 
though  by  many  considered  destructive,  has  been 
very  great.  The  four  hundredth  anniversary  of 
the  University  was  celebrated  with  great  pomp  In 
August,  1877.  This  program  included  a  historical 
play,  depicting  the  leading  features  of  the  life  of 
the  University  through  the  successive  centuries, 
and  a  royal  Klostesfest,  given  by  the  King  as 
host  to  the  students  and  faculties  at  beautiful 
Bebenhausen. 

It  was  near  Tubingen  (KIrchentellinsfurt) 
that  Count  Eberhard  planted  the  white  thorn 
brought  by  him  from  the  Holy  Land.    This  grew 


I 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  69 

to  be  a  tree  under  whose  shadow,  as  sing  the  chil- 
dren of  the  Wiirtemberg  schools,  often  sat  the 
Duke  in  his  old  age  dreaming  of  ^'the  old  times 
and  the  distant  land."  Unfortunately  it  has  been 
destroyed  by  fire.  Three  miles  from  Tubingen 
is  the  ancient  Cistercian  Monastery  of  Beben- 
hausen,  founded  in  1185,  ^  Gothic  structure  of 
exceeding  beauty  and  interest.  Restored  by  King 
Karl  to  its  old-time -state,  it  has  since  been  used 
as  a  royal  hunting  seat,  and  is  a  favorite  sojourn- 
ing place  for  the  court  in  summer. 

Lichtenstein  Castle. — ^A  visit  to  the  Castle  of 
Lichtenstein  is  sure  to  be  a  delightful  experience. 
It  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  there  on  a  Whit- 
monday,  the  day  of  the  annual  festival  at  the 
Nebelhohle.  To  be  on  hand  in  good  time  for  the 
fete  we  spent  Whitsunday  at  Honau,  a  wee  little 
village  in  the  valley  deep  down  below  the  castle 
cliffs,  where  we  found  good  board  and  pleasant 
quarters  with  a  villager,  and  were  thus  able  to 
enjoy  a  glimpse  of  life  in  this  remote  hamlet.  The 
Sunday  sermon  and  its  audience  suggested  vividly 
the  descriptions  of  Freitag.  The  procession  of  vil- 
lage geese  winding  their  independent  way  home 
through  the  village  at  nightfall  was  an  amusing 
scene.  In  the  morning  a  boy  had  collected  and 
led  the  flock  to  an  enclosed  pasture  watered  by 
a  wide,  shallow  brook;  at  evening  all  that  was 
necessary  was  that  the  gates  should  be  opened. 
Each  goose  joined  in  its  own  company  and  fol- 
lowed its  captain,  and  each  flock  marched  sedately, 
in  goose  file,  to  its  own  home  barnyard.  The 
procession  was  long,  the  geese  large  and  loqua- 


70  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

cious,  and  the  effect  correspondingly  imposing. 
To  reach  Honau  we  had  come  to  Reutlingen,  a 
picturesque  old  town  on  the  Echaz.  As  one  of 
the  free  imperial  towns  of  the  Suabian  Alliance 
it  played  an  important  part  in  the  earlier  history 
of  the  country,  especially  during  the  times  of 
Duke  Ulrich.  From  there  we  had  driven  in  a 
Beiwagon  to  Honau.  On  Monday  morning  we 
found  places  in  one  of  the  many  curious  vehicles 
impressed  into  service  to  carry  the  country  peo- 
ple to  the  fete, — a  long  affair,  not  unlike  our 
hay  wagons,  but  not  provided  with  any  such 
cushioning  for  the  jolts. 

The  Nebelhohle  is  a  stalactite  grotto  of  con- 
siderable dimensions,  about  three  miles  west  of 
the  castle,  and  has  become  famous  through  Wil- 
liam Hauff's  popular  novel  Lichtenstein.  It  was 
here  that  Duke  Ulrich  was  concealed  by  his 
barons  during  the  long  months  of  his  exile,  com- 
ing each  night  to  the  castle  for  food  and  warmth. 
The  countersign  given  when  he  reached  the  draw- 
bridge was  ''Der  Mann  ist  da'  (the  man  is  here). 
The  castle  of  those  times  no  longer  exists,  but 
Count  William  of  Wiirtemberg  has  erected  one 
on  the  same  spot,  which  is  exceedingly  picturesque. 
Its  situation  is  most  impressive,  a  true  eagle's  nest 
built  out  on  an  isolated  rock,  which  Schwab  says 
"shoots  up  like  a  sunbeam,'*  and  is  only  accessible 
by  a  drawbridge.  In  front  is  a  precipitous  fall, 
and  far  below  lies  the  green  valley  of  Honau 
threaded  by  its  two  winding  streams.  Beyond  is 
the  Achalm  and  an  extensive  plain.     When  the 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  71 

owner  is  not  in  residence  visitors  are  admitted  to 
the  castle. 

Crossing  the  moat  and  drawbridge,  one  enters 
a  small  courtyard,  enclosed  by  servants'  quarters, 
and  farther  on  finds  a  small  garden  shaded  by  old 
lindens.  A  second  drawbridge  spans  the  chasm 
between  the  mountain  and  the  rock  on  which  the 
castle  itself,  built  in  medieval  fashion,  is  perched. 
The  interior  is  handsomely  finished,  the  walls 
covered  with  frescoes  of  scenes  in  the  life  of  Duke 
Ulrich  as  depicted  by  Hauff,  and  contains  a  col- 
lection of  antiquities  and  armor.  The  view  from 
the  high  tower  is  exceedingly  beautiful. 

The  vicinity  of  Castle  Lichtenstein  has  been 
made  a  literary  shrine  through  the  vivid  descrip- 
tions in  HaufE's  novel  of  that  name,  and  it  is  his 
characters  whose  memories  here  seem  most  real. 
He  has  given  associations  to  every  nook  and 
described  every  locality.  Fitting  is  it,  therefore, 
that  a  statue  of  the  author  has  been  erected  on  a 
projecting  rock  outside  the  chateau,  where  he 
can  thus  visibly  preside  as  tutelary  genius  over  the 
place  he  has  endowed  with  such  popular  immor- 
tality in  the  hearts  of  his  admiring  countrymen. 
On  Whitsuntide,  1901,  a  dramatic  representation, 
arranged  by  Rudolf  Lorenz  from  HaufiF's  novel, 
was  given  in  the  festival  hall  at  Honau,  in  sight 
of  the  castle,  the  players  being  from  the  surround- 
ing country,  and  this  is  to  be  annually  repeated. 
On  each  Whitmonday  the  Nebelhohle  is  illum- 
inated, two  thousand  small  wax  tapers  being 
stuck  in  the  soft  chalk  of  the  walls  and  ceiling, 
and   the  visitor   is   guided   through   the  various 


72  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

caverns  so  graphically  described  by  the  novelist. 
One  sees  the  stalactite  halls,  the  pillars,  what  is 
described  as  the  Throne,  and  Ulrich's  Cave  at  the 
farther  end,  and  can  listen  to  the  echoes  and  feel 
the  desolation  that  must  have  been  borne  in  upon 
the  lonely  exile. 

Up  above,  in  the  forest,  the  fete  is  held.  Many 
come  from  far  and  near,  some  bringing  their  pic- 
nic dinner,  others  buying  from  the  vendors,  plen- 
tifully supplied  with  hot  meat  dumplings  and 
other  substantial  viands.  There  was  music  and 
dancing,  and  the  gay  costumes  -  of  the  peasants 
made  a  striking  picture.  Betzingen,  a  town  much 
frequented  by  artists,  is  near  by  and  nothing  can 
be  gayer  than  a  dance  of  the  Betzingen  youth 
and  maidens.  The  long  white  linen  coat-tails  flap 
and  wave  with  the  active  leaps  of  their  wearers, 
and  the  feet  beneath  the  short  full  plisse  skirts  can 
tread  a  lively  measure.  It  was  a  jolly  scene  and 
accompanied  by  no  disorder.  The  Olgahohle 
at  Honau  Is  much  smaller,  but  its  stalactites  are 
less  blackened  by  torch  smoke. 

The  ascent  of  the  high  peak  of  Achalm  is  made 
from  Reutllngen.  About  half  way  up  is  the  royal 
sheep  farm,  and  on  top,  in  place  of  the  ancient 
stronghold  so  often  taken  and  retaken  during  the 
stormy  days  of  Suablan  history,  is  a  huge,  vaned 
outlook  tower,  from  which  there  is  a  most  ex- 
tensive view  of  the  beautiful  region  below. 

Excursions  to  Chapels. — Another  charming 
short  excursion  from  Stuttgart  is  to  Walderich's 
chapel,  at  Murrhardt.  This  valley  of  the  Murr 
is  of  historic  interest  as  having  been  the  boundary 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  73 

of  the  Roman  Empire.  Walderich's  church  is 
built  on  the  site  and  with  the  stones  of  an  old  Ro- 
man fort,  and  the  chapel  is  an  exquisite  example 
of  the  late  Romanesque  style  of  architecture.  Its 
legendary  origin  dates  from  the  days  when  King 
Louis  the  Pious,  son  and  heir  of  Charlemagne, 
was  betrayed  by  his  people  into  the  hands  of  his 
unfilial  sons.  He  fled  into  Suabia  and  here,  where 
the  river  Murr  joins  the  Neckar,  he  was  led,  by 
the  tinkling  of  a  little  bell,  to  a  cave  inhabited  by 
a  pious  hermit,  who  received  and  sheltered  him. 
At  parting  the  holy  man,  to  whom  had  been  re- 
vealed in  a  dream  the  rank  of  his  guest  and  his 
future  re-elevation  to  his  throne,  begged  only  for 
the  ground  on  which  stood  the  humble  hut,  but 
the  King  gladly  promised  a  church  and  cloister 
besides,  and  in  time  arose  in  the  valley  the  beau- 
tiful stone  chapel  called  after  the  hermit  Wal- 
derich,  with  its  cloister  and  charming  garden. 
Walderich  was  its  first  abbot  and  with  him  were 
twelve  monks  of  the  Benedictine  order. 

Another  easy  pilgrimage  is  to  the  Regiswindis 
chapel  at  Lauffen,  whose  old  castle  and  church 
stand  picturesquely  on  two  rocks  on  opposite 
banks  of  the  Neckar.  Regiswindis  was  a  Count's 
little  daughter,  drowned  by  her  nurse  in  revenge 
for  an  injury  and  found  floating  days  afterwards 
on  the  river,  with  arms  outstretched,  so  that  the 
body  took  the  shape  of  a  cross.  This  was  enough 
to  create  a  saint,  and  a  chapel  was  raised  over  the 
child's  burial-place.  On  the  way  from  Stuttgart 
are  some  Roman  and  medieval  ruins,  and  just 
beyond  LaufiEen  is  the  very  interesting  old  town 


74  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

of  Hellbronn,  now  a  busy  manufacturing  city. 
This  has  been  immortalized  by  Goethe  and  relics 
of  his  knight,  Gotz  von  Berlichingen,  of  the  Iron 
Hand;  abound.  Emperors  and  kings  have  here 
held  court  in  what  is  now  known  as  the  "Deutsche 
Haus."  Behind  the  fine  church  of  St.  Kilian  is 
the  Heilbrunnen  (healing  well)  from  which  the 
town  derives  its  name. 

Maulbronn  has  a  beautiful  Cistercian  Abbey, 
consecrated  in  1187  and  added  to  through  subse- 
quent centuries.  It  is  one  of  the  best  preserved 
of  the  older  monasteries  of  Germany,  and  has 
been  lately  restored.  Near  here  are  the  ruins  of 
Hohenasperg,  first  a  fortress,  then  a  state  prison, 
where  some  illustrious  prisoners  have  been  con- 
fined. The  Benedictine  monastery  at  Lorch  was 
founded  by  the  Hohenstauffens  in  1102,  and  con- 
tains several  of  their  tombs  and  monuments. 

Famous  Springs  and  Cures. — There  are  said 
to  be  seventy-five  mineral  springs  in  Wiirtemberg, 
and  at  each  are  attractions  provided  for  the  vis- 
itor. About  sixty-five  hundred  summer  guests 
come  annually  to  Wildbad,  situated  in  the  nar- 
row ravine  of  the  Enz  in  the  Black  Forest,  and 
this  watering-place  is  equipped  with  all  the  amuse- 
ments and  pleasure-grounds  which  numerous 
large  hotels  create  around  them. 

A  ver)^  different  atmosphere,  however,  is  that 
breathed  at  Bad  Boll,  under  the  charge  of  the 
pious  Blumhardt  family.  This  establishment, 
with  its  sulphur  baths,  was  bought  of  the  King 
of  Wiirtemberg  about  1850  by  Pastor  Blumhardt, 
father  of  the  present  head  of  the  family,  and  is  a 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  75 

quiet  retreat  for  those  seeking  peace  of  mind  and 
religious  meditation.  In  the  time  of  the  elder 
Blumhardt  faith-healing,  by  prayer,  was  a  fea- 
ture of  the  place,  but  now  the  cure  sought  seenis 
to  be  that  of  the  mind  and  soul  rather  than  of 
the  body.  Religious  services  are  held  daily  and 
an  earnest  devotional  spirit  pervades  the  place, 
all  whose  inmates  dwell  together  as  members  of 
one  family.  Rank  is  never  considered ;  a  countess 
sits  contentedly  next  to  a  mechanic;  indeed,  of 
late  the  establishment  has  fallen  into  disfavor  with 
many  of  its  former  patrons  because  of  the  growth 
of  its  socialistic  tendencies.  The  grounds  are  very 
attractive;  there  are  natural  woods  and  fields 
overrun  with  flowers,  and  the  building  is  most 
simple  in  its  furnishings.  The  different  Blum- 
hardt families  live  there  as  patriarchal  heads  of 
a  tribe  of  followers  and  carry  on  practical  farm- 
ing. To  reach  this  really  charming  retreat  of 
''The  Simple  Life"  we  went  to  Goppingen,  then 
drove  the  four  miles  to  Bad  Boll. 


CHAPTER  IX 
The  Suabian  Alb 

No  visitor  to  Wiirtemberg  will  tarry  long 
before  exploring  the  high,  cone-shaped  hills  of  the 
Suabian  Alb,  whose  beauties  so  fascinate  from 
every  point  of  view  in  the  Neckar  Valley.  The 
country,  though  wooded  and  picturesque,  is  not 
wild  and  pleasant  retreats  are  numerous.  Not 
much  equipment  but  a  wanderer's  staff  and  « 


76  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

friendly  disposition  is  needed.  The  wallet  counts, 
of  course,  but  one's  wants  are  limited  and  the  de- 
mands will  not  prove  excessive.  In  1889  an  "Alb- 
Verein."  was  organized  by  the  late  Dr.  Saltz- 
mann  of  Esslingen,  which  now  numbers  over 
twenty-five  thousand  members  and  is  a  popular 
enthusiasm  of  the  Schwabs.  Its  aim  is  to  cultivate 
the  love  for  mountain  excursions  and  to  increase 
facilities  for  the  excursionists. 

From  the  broad  platform  on  top  of  the  Rech- 
berg  is  obtained,  perhaps,  the  finest  view.  There 
are  the  ruins  of  an  old  castle  and  a  pilgrimage 
chapel,  where  can  be  obtained  a  lunch  by  day  but 
no  camp  by  night.  Undoubtedly,  however,  the 
peak  of  the  HohenstaufFen,  so  rich  with  historic 
associations,  most  allures.  Nothing  is  left  of  the 
ancient  castle  on  the  summit,  which  was  de- 
stroyed in  1525  during  the  Peasant  War,  and  the 
small  church  is  the  only  relic  of  the  lordly  House 
of  Hohenstauffen  still  standing. 

On  its  restored  gable  is  the  imperial  eagle,  and 
around  it  are  the  names  of  the  Emperors  of  this 
famous  family,  whose  race  became  so  early  ex- 
tinct. The  armorial  bearings  of  the  seven  an- 
cient Electorates  of  Germany,  those  of  the 
former  kingdoms  of  Jerusalem  and  of  the  other 
countries  over  which  these  Imperious  Emperors 
ruled — Burgundy,  Holland,  Denmark,  Poland, 
Sardinia,  Naples — are  there  emblazoned,  and  on 
one  wall  is  an  old  fresco  of  Frederick  Barbarossa 
with  its  Inscriptions  of  the  Sixteenth  Century,  re- 
cording that  the  Emperor  "amor  bonorum,  terror 
malorum"  entered  by  that  door,  now  long  ago 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  77 

walled  up.  On  a  lower  peak  of  the  hill  are  the 
ruins  of  the  Castle  of  Hohenrechberg,  which  was 
burned  in  1865. 

The  Siege  of  Hohenstauffen. — Most  different 
must  be  the  view  that  now  greets  the  eye  from 
that  stretch  of  thickly  wooded  country  that  lay 
beneath  the  gaze  of  those  knights  and  squires  who 
built  and  occupied  these  strong  towers  on  the  hill- 
tops; and  to  replace  present  associations  by  past 
ones  the  traveler  must  let  memory  recall  the  in- 
cidents and  traditions  of  the  royal  family  life  in 
their  ancestral  castle  which  have  come  down  to 
us.  One  of  the  earliest  of  these  pictures  of  the 
past,  perhaps,  is  that  given  by  Belschner — a  Wiir- 
temberg  historian — of  a  happening  about  1127, 
when  King  Lothair  of  Saxony,  warring  against 
Suabia,  laid  siege  to  this  Hohenstauffen  fortress, 
because  within  it  were  the  dearest  things  that 
Duke  Frederick  possessed,  namely,  his  wife  and 
children.  Fear  fell  upon  the  household  as  they 
saw  the  large  besieging  army  and  knew  their  own 
weak  condition — a  few  dependants  under  the 
charge  of  a  ninety  years  old  castellan,  Sueneger — 
and  that  no  word  could  reach  their  absent  lord. 
Food  and  water  soon  failed,  and  the  little  Fred- 
erick, with  the  blue  eyes  and  blond  hair,  who  af- 
terwards became  the  famous  Barbarossa,  shared 
his  portion  with  the  rest.  The  Dutchess  became 
very  ill,  and  the  only  hope  was  In  the  return  of 
Duke  Frederick,  for  whom  a  sharp  watch  was 
kept  from  the  tower. 

One  afternoon  came  the  news,  filling  all  hearts 
with  hope,  that  the  returning  army  could  be  seen 


78  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

on  Its  way  from  Gmund.  Alas!  the  approaching 
banners  proved,  on  nearer  view,  to  be  those  of 
Henry,  Duke  of  Bavaria,  brother  to  Duchess 
Judith,  but  enemy  of  her  lord,  on  his  way  to  join 
the  besiegers.  The  watch  hastened  again  to  the 
Duchess  with  the  evil  tidings.  Then  her  heart 
broke  with  sorrow,  and  with  a  despairing  cry  she 
fell  dead.  Great  was  the  grief  at  the  death  of  the 
beloved  lady,  and  mournful  the  laments  of  the 
royal  children,  while  in  the  midst  of  all  came  a 
herald  with  a  demand  for  surrender.  The  old 
castellan  made  reply:  "Grant  us  a  two-day  truce. 
We  have  in  our  midst  a  distinguished  corpse  and 
beg  for  security  while  we  bury  our  dead  at 
Lorch."  King  Lothair  granted  the  request  and 
the  castle  gate  opened  for  the  funeral  procession. 
Behind  the  chaplain  was  carried  the  coffin  cov- 
ered with  flowers  and  the  arms  of  the  Stauffens 
and  Welfs ;  then  followed  the  old  castellan,  lead- 
ing little  Frederick  by  the  hand,  and,  lastly,  came 
the  two  little  daughters.  When  the  procession 
had  reached  the  tents  of  King  Lothair  and  Duke 
Henry,  old  Sueneger  called  to  the  bearer  to  put 
down  the  coffin,  took  off  the  cover  and,  turning 
to  the  King,  said:  "That  you  may  see  that  we 
practice  no  deceit  look  upon  the  corpse." 

Then  fell  Duke  Henry's  gaze  on  the  white 
face  of  his  dead  sister,  whose  heart  he  had  bro- 
ken, and  grief  overcame  the  strong  warrior.  He 
sank  down  on  his  knees  by  the  coffin,  and  his  tears 
dropped  upon  the  thin  folded  hands.  He  and  all 
his  knights  accompanied  the  body  to  Its  burial, 
and  afterwards  he  bade  goodbye  to  King  Lothair 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  79 

and  withdrew  his  force.  The  scene  had  made  so 
sorrowful  an  impression  also  upon  the  King  that 
the  same  day  on  which  Duchess  Judith's  body  was 
laid  to  rest  in  the  cloisters  of  Lorch  saw  the 
withdrawal  of  all  the  besieging  army. 

Songs  of  Love. — Other  pictures  are  more 
peaceful.  From  the  burg  went  out  the  warring 
bands,  but  within  its  walls  did  the  knights  and 
ladies  find  time  for  chivalrous  amusement  and  do- 
mestic relaxation.  The  young  heirs  learned  to 
mount  their  steeds  and  throw  their  lance;  the 
dames  embroidered  tokens  and  reared  children. 
Here,  in  the  long  dull  winter  evenings,  collected 
the  household  around  roaring  log-fires  and  lis- 
tened to  the  lay  of  the  minnesinger,  or  the  tale  of 
the  wandering  minstrel.  Here,  on  this  very  hill- 
top, did  Walter  von  der  Vogelweide,  friend  and 
companion  to  Emperor  Frederick,  sing  praises 
to  the  beauty  and  purity  of  the  fair  dames  of  the 
imperial  household,  as  well  as  of  the  Nature  he 
loved  so  well.  Gathered  in  the  great  hall  of  the 
castle,  the  ladies  probably  on  a  dais,  embroidering, 
servants  below  working,  logs  crackling,  torches 
blazing,  the  warriors  recounted  deeds  of  valor 
and  the  wonders  of  the  foreign  lands  they  had 
seen  in  the  Crusades.  From  time  to  time  would 
the  talk  cease  as  all  listened  to  the  sweet  song 
of  the  prince  of  minnesingers  as  he  chanted,  per- 
haps, the  following  love-song: 

"Thoroughly  sweet  and  full  of  loveliness  are 
pure  women.  There  was  never  anything  so 
lovely  in  all  the  air,  or  on  earth,  or  in  all  the 
green   meadows.      Lilies   and    roses,    when    they 


8o  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

shine  in  the  May  dew  through  the  grass,  and 
the  song  of  little  birds,  are,  compared  with  this 
charm,  without  color  or  sound.  If  one  sees  beau- 
tiful women,  that  can  refresh  the  troubled  spirit 
and  extinguish  at  the  same  time  all  lamenting, 
when  their  sweet  red  lips  entrancingly  laugh  in 
love,  and  arrows  dart  from  their  eyes  to  the  bot- 
tom of  man's  heart."* 

To-day  all  this  has  vanished,  save  in  mem- 
ory, but  there  is  still  a  power  in  the  past 
that  holds  sway  over  the  thoughtful  visitor  who 
reclines  dreamingly  on  the  greensward  under  the 
gaze  of  the  imperial  eagle  on  the  church-gable. 

On  the  Hohenneuffen. — For  natural  beauty 
the  traveller  will  now  turn  to  the  Leininger  Val- 
ley, one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the  whole  Alb, 
from  where  he  can  ascend  to  the  ruined  ances- 
tral castle  of  the  Duke  of  Teck,  also  command- 
ing a  fine  view.  From  the  dales  the  eye  is  con- 
tinually drawn  to  the  picturesque  hills;  from  the 
hilltops  it  rests,  admiringly,  on  the  beautiful  val- 
leys of  the  Neckar  and  its  tributaries,  their  or- 
chards and  vine-planted  slopes,  and  the  many 
towns  and  villages  which  dot  the  plains. 

Conspicuous  from  below  is  the  Hohenneuffen, 
its  top  crowned  by  the  imposing  ruins  of  an  an- 
cient fortress.  Legends  cluster  here,  often  con- 
tradictory, of  the  ^'white  ass  of  Hohenneuffen," 
whose  hoof  long  remained  nailed  on  the  wall  of 
the  porter's  lodge.  Some  say  that  it  was  the 
means  of  delivery  from  siege,  through  trickery. 
Although  in  sore  distress  for  food,  the  garrison 

•Mrs.  Hosmer. 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  8i 

had  caused  the  ass  to  be  well  fattened  and  then 
thrown  over  the  walls.  The  enemy,  thinking 
that  if  an  ass  should  be  so  fat  the  fortress'  sup- 
plies must  be  inexhaustible,  withdrew  from  the 
siege. 

Prettier  than  this  tale  is  the  poet's  story  of  the 
fair  Vola,  daughter  of  the  lord  of  the  castle, 
who,  aware  of  the  giving  out  of  their  water  sup- 
ply, slipped  out  at  night,  though  with  her  father's 
consent,  and  on  this  snow  white  ass  made  her 
perilous  descent  into  the  camp  below.  The  leader 
was  her  lover,  and  her  mission  was  to  ransom,  by 
gift  of  herself,  her  father's  castle,  which  was 
happily  accomplished. 

To  Hohen  XJrach. — Another  charming  excur- 
sion is  to  Hohen  Urach.  The  path  through  the 
beech  woods  is  very  attractive,  and  on  top  is  the 
ruined  fortress.  Interest  here  centres  on  the  true 
and  tragic  story  of  the  poet,  Frischlin.  Professor 
at  Tubingen  University,  a  brilliant  scholar  and 
poet,  he  was  a  democratic  son  of  the  people  and 
was  accused  of  preaching  the  revolutionary  doc- 
trine that,  if  Suabia  must  have  an  aristocracy  at 
all,  it  should  be  one  based  on  merit,  not  birth.  In 
those  days  these  were  treasonable  thoughts,  and 
therefore  was  Frischlin,  in  the  year  1590,  ar- 
rested and  carried  to  the  fortress  of  Hohen 
Urach.  Separated  from  his  true  and  beautiful 
wife.  Marguerite,  his  one  thought  was  to  regain 
his  freedom.  Making  a  cord  of  torn  clothing  and 
blankets,  he  attempted  to  lower  himself  over  the 
precipice,  but  was  dashed  to  pieces  on  the  rock? 
below. 


82  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

The  waterfall  of  Urach  is  quite  famous,  drop- 
ping to  a  depth  of  eighty  feet.  The  best  view  is 
from  the  point  below,  called  the  Olga  Ruhe  in 
commemoration  of  a  visit  of  Queen  Olga  to  the 
falls.  A  pleasant  place  for  a  sojourn  here  on  the 
Alb  is  the  quaint  town  of  Urach,  which  can  be 
made  the  centre  of  many  interesting  excursions. 

Castle  of  HohenzoUern. — Another  Mecca  to 
the  traveler  is  the  Castle  of  HohenzoUern,  situ- 
ated on  an  isolated,  wooded  eminence  near  Hech- 
ingen.  The  old  castle,  the  cradle  of  the  reigning 
dynasty  of  Prussia,  was  destroyed  in  1423,  but  on 
its  ruins  was  built,  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
Nineteenth  Century,  the  present  magnificent 
structure  in  the  style  of  the  Fourteenth,  by  Em- 
peror Frederick  William.  The  entire  summit  of 
the  high  rock  is  enclosed  by  high  walls  in  the 
shape  of  a  heptagon,  with  bastions  and  corner  tur- 
rets. Within  these  is  the  castle,  comprising  five 
towers,  a  court  and  garden,  two  chapels  and  a 
barrack.  A  company  of  infantry  is  stationed 
here.  The  Hohenzollerns,  whose  name  is  derived 
from  this  ancestral  castle  Zollern,  occupied  an  im- 
portant position  among  the  small  princely 
Suabian  families  as  early  as  the  Twelfth  Century. 
"Acquisitiveness  and  a  capacity  to  hold  what  was 
once  obtained  and  to  administer  it  with  thrift, 
seems  to  have  characteristized,  to  a  greater  or 
less  degree,  all  the  Franconian  HohenzoUern 
princes,"  says  a  writer.  In  141 5  this  line  ob- 
tained the  Brandenburg  Electorate  as  a  pledge  for 
a  loan  to  Emperor  Sigismund;  in  1701  the 
Elector  became  King  of  Prussia,  and  in  1871  it 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  83 

was  William  of  Hohenzollern  who  was  acclaimed 
Emperor  of  Germany  at  Versailles.  The  province 
of  Hohenzollern  covers  440  square  miles ;  is  com- 
pletely surrounded  by  Baden  and  Wiirtemberg, 
and  crossed  by  the  Danube  and  the  ''rauhe  Alb." 
Fortress  of  Hohentwiel. — The  historic  fortress 
of  Hohentwiel  makes  an  imposing  ruin,  and  the 
view  from  the  top  of  this  high,  detached,  vol- 
canic cone  is  most  extensive,  commanding  Lake 
Constance  and  the  Tyrolese  Alps,  reaching  even 
to  Mt.  Blanc.  The  stronghold  was  almost  im- 
pregnable by  situation,  perched  on  the  steep,  high 
rock,  which  rises  nearly  perpendicularly  on  the 
side  near  Singen.  After  having  resisted  many 
sieges,  it  yielded  without  a  blow,  in  1800,  at  the 
demand  of  the  French  General,  Van  Damme,  and 
was  destroyed  by  Napoleon's  orders  in  October 
of  the  same  year,  contrary  to  the  terms  of  the  ca- 
pitulation. The  hero  of  Hohentwiel  was  Conrad 
Wiederhold,  who  commanded  the  fortress  for 
fourteen  years,  during  the  period  of  the  Thirty 
Years  War.  A  brave,  devoted  captain,  he  led 
the  bold  company  of  one  hundred  musketeers, 
who  comprised  his  entire  garrison,  on  many  suc- 
cessful exploits,  constantly  making  forages  on  the 
enemy  and  returning  with  various  plunder — once 
with  an  organ  for  his  new  church  on  the  hill.  The 
sick,  poor  and  wounded  were  tenderly  cared  for 
at  his  table,  for  a  warm  heart  accompanied  the 
fearless  spirit.  Under  the  bust  on  his  grave  at 
Kircheim  is  the  epitaph: 


84  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

"The  commandant  at  Hohentwiel, 
Firm  as  his  rock  which  never  yielded; 
The  defence  of  Princes ;    the  vexation  of  the  enemy ; 
The  friend  of  art;    the  refuge  of  the  poor; 
A  citizen,  hero  and  Christian  like  gold — 
So  sleeps  here  Conrad  Wiederhold. 

City  of  TJlm. — Next  to  the  capital  the  largest 
city  in  Wiirtemberg  is  Ulm,  situated  at  the  head 
of  navigation  on  the  Danube.  This  city  has  a 
dignified,  medieval  appearance,  with  quaint,  nar- 
row streets,  and  Sixteenth  Century  architecture. 
It  was  the  most  important  of  the  Suabian  free 
imperial  cities,  and  is  mentioned  as  early  as  854. 
Ulm  was  the  spot  where  the  meistersingers  lin- 
gered longest,  "preserving  without  text  or  notes 
the  traditional  love  of  their  craft."  The  pride 
and  chief  attraction  of  Ulm  is  the  beautiful  Early 
Gothic  Protestant  Cathedral,  next  to  Cologne  the 
largest  in  Germany,  holding  thirty  thousand  peo- 
ple. On  the  30th  June,  1377,  the  cornerstone  of 
this  wonderful  Miinster  was  laid,  amid  great 
enthusiasm. 

Lake  Constance. — ^A  beautiful  place  of  sojourn 
is  Lake  Constance,  which  lies  between  Wiirtem- 
berg and  Switzerland,  a  mirror  for  the  Alps  be- 
yond. It  is  about  forty-two  miles  in  length  and 
eight  miles  in  breadth,  and  its  picturesque  and 
wooded  banks  and  islands  with  the  distant  hills 
and  snow-clad  mountains,  make  it  a  most  attrac- 
tive resort.  Steamboats  ply  constantly  between  the 
principal  places,  and  delightful  excursions  can  be 
made  in  all  directions.  The  banks  of  the  lake 
belong  to  five  different  states,  viz.,  Bavaria, 
Wiirtemberg,   Baden,   Switzerland  and  Austria. 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  85 

Fried richshaf en  Is  a  quiet,  pretty  modern  town, 
founded  by  King  Frederick  of  Wiirtemberg. 

The  Black  Forest. — In  the  southwest  lies  the 
great  Black  Forest,  so  magical  in  allurement  to  all 
those  who  love  the  absolute  seclusion  and  wildness 
of  Nature.  Released  from  superstitious  fear  of 
the  mysterious,  legendary  spirits  with  which  the 
old  folk-lore  peopled  these  forest  glades,  their 
fabled  existence  adds  yet  a  delightful  glamour  of 
mystery  and  romance  to  the  Schwarzwald,  so 
called  from  the  dark-tinted  foliage  of  its  many 
evergreens.  The  scenery  is  not  grand;  the  hills 
do  not  rise  into  peaks,  but  are  rather  rounded 
plateaus,  separated  from  each  other  by  the  deep 
ravines  of  the  streams.  The  trees  are  small, 
mostly  evergreens,  but  mingled  with  oak  and 
beech ;  it  is  their  vast  succession  and  the  absolute 
seclusion  that  so  impress  and  delight.  The  for- 
est, which  contains  about  1,900  square  miles,  is 
in  the  shape  of  a  triangle,  its  base  resting  on  the 
Rhine  between  Lake  Constance  and  Basle,  and  its 
apex  pointing  north.  The  descent  on  the  Rhine 
side  is  precipitous. 

Only  one-third  of  the  Black  Forest  belongs  to 
Wiirtemberg;  the  most  frequented  portion  is  in 
Baden,  around  Fribourg.  It  is  rich  in  mineral 
springs  and  gives  rise  to  the  Danube  and  the 
Neckar,  as  well  as  the  smaller  streams  of  the 
Murr,  Kinsig,  Elz,  Enz  and  Wiessen.  Its  great- 
est elevation  Is  the  Feldberg,  4,892  feet.  Near 
this  Is  the  Holle  (Hell)  Pass,  a  narrow  ravine 
shut  In  by  high  mountain  sides,  celebrated  in  con- 
nection with  General  Moreau's  retreat  in  1796. 


86  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

The  soil  is  poor  for  agriculture,  but  cattle-rear- 
ing is  carried  on  successfully.  The  inhabitants 
are  a  simple,  kindly  folk,  who  have  woven  and 
inherited  a  tissue  of  legends  which  hover  over  the 
entire  region  and  make  deep  impress  on  the  life 
and  customs  of  the  scattered  villages.  The  chief 
occupation  is  the  manufacture  of  wooden  articles, 
especially  of  the  so-called  ''Dutch  clocks,"  many 
of  which  are  most  ingeniously  automatic.  Music 
boxes  are  also  made  in  considerable  quantities. 


CHAPTER  X 
Art  and  Literature 

"They   sing  of  love  and   Springtime,   of  happy  golden   days; 
Of  manly  worth  and  freedom,  of  faith  and  holy  ways. 
They  sing  of  all   things  lovely  that  human  hearts  delight. 
They  sing  of  all  things  lofty  that  human  souls  excite.' 

— Uhland. 

There  has  never  been  a  Suabian  ''school  of 
painting,"  and  no  great  artists  have  arisen  within 
her  borders.  Most  of  the  early  fresco-paintings 
on  the  walls  of  the  cloisters  and  chapels  were  long 
ago  painted  over.  Some  of  these  have,  however, 
been  restored  during  the  last  two  decades.  Al- 
tar-pieces of  the  Fourteenth  Centur}^  are  quite 
numerous.  The  most  important  painter  of  that 
time  was  Bartholomew  Zeitblom.  The  sculptor, 
Dannecker  (i  758-1 841),  has,  perhaps,  con- 
tributed the  most  glory  to  the  native  art  of 
Wiirtemberg.  He  was  the  son  of  a  groom  in 
the  service  of  the  Duke  of  Wiirtemberg;  was 
born  at  Waldenbuch  and  educated  at  the  Karl- 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  87 

schule,  where  he  formed  a  life  friendship  with 
Schiller.  Later  he  studied  at  Paris,  and  in  Rome 
came  under  the  teaching  and  influence  of  Ca- 
nova.  Dannecker  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the 
greatest  of  modern  sculptors.  He  was  director 
of  the  Art  School  at  Stuttgart,  and  with  his 
associate,  P.  T.  Schiffauer,  (1756-1808),  intro- 
duced the  classic  spirit  into  German  art.  His 
finest  works  are  not,  however,  to  be  found  in 
Wiirtemberg.  They  are  the  "Ariadne,"  at 
Frankfort,  and  a  statue  of  Christ,  which  is  in  one 
of  the  Moscow  churches.  A  fine  bust  of  Schiller 
by  him  is  in  the  Stuttgart  Art  Museum. 

Architecture. — The  first  example  of  Suabian 
architecture  is  the  cloister  at  Hirsau,  consecrated 
1 09 1.  This  is  in  the  Roman  style,  as  were  all 
the  buildings  of  the  Tenth  to  the  Thirteenth 
Centuries,  of  which  other  fine  specimens  can  be 
seen  at  Ellwangen,  Alpirsbach,  Lorch,  Reichen- 
bach,  Komburg,  etc.  The  Cistercian  cloisters, 
especially  of  Maulbronn  and  Bebenhausen,  are 
masterpieces  of  this  architecture  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  In  the  Thirteenth  Century  the  pointed 
arch  of  the  Early  Gothic  style  was  introduced. 
One  of  the  earliest  and  finest  specimens  of  this 
style  is  the  Marienkirche  in  Reutlingen.  Begun 
in  the  Romanesque  style,  in  1247,  it  was  finished 
nearly  one  hundred  years  later  ,  in  the  Early 
Gothic.  Other  specimens  of  this  style  can  be 
seen  in  Leonberg,  Waiblingen,  Esslingen,  Bob- 
lingen,  Heilbrunn,  Lauf^fen,  etc. 

By  1350  the  true  Gothic  was  universally  estab- 
lished, and  now  arose  those  beautiful  spires  of 


88  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

stone  lacework,  such  as  the  Frauenkirche  of 
Esslingen  and  the  Ulm  Miinster.  To  this  period 
belong  some  beautiful  carvings  and  stone  reliefs, 
as  those  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Cross  at 
Gmund ;  the  fine  ^'bride  relief'  of  the  Rottweiler 
Chapel,  and  the  side  portal  of  the  Ulm  Miinster. 
In  1500  there  was  a  change  to  the  Renaissance 
style,  and  in  this  are  built  the  many  castles  and 
public  buildings  with  which  the  Wiirtemberg 
Dukes  so  adorned  their  realm.  The  greatest 
builder  was  Duke  Karl,  who  also  established  the 
Academy  of  Art  and  the  Karlschule. 

Songs  of  Suabia. — ^The  beginnings  of  Suabian 
literature  can  be  traced  to  the  days  of  the  Teu- 
tonic migrations,  but  there  is  little  that  survives 
of  the  heroic  songs  of  that  barbaric  time.  Sup- 
pressed by  the  conscientious  zeal  of  missionary 
and  monk,  it  was  but  a  vague  tradition  that  lin- 
gered, reappearing  only  later  in  the  folk-song  of 
the  people.  As  the  dawn  of  the  new  civilization 
succeeded  the  night  of  barbarism,  we  have  but 
monkish  writings,  until,  under  the  impressive 
Hohenstauffen  Emperors,  culture  became  an  at- 
tribute of  courts,  and  the  lays  of  the  minnesinger 
were  heard  in  Germany. 

This  was  the  period  of  the  isolated  castle  on  the 
top  of  the  mountain,  with  the  small  village  below, 
and,  while  the  burghers  imitated  their  lords,  there 
was  a  distinct  difference  in  subject  and  treat- 
ment between  the  Popular  Poetry  and  the  Court 
Epic.  The  subjects  of  the  former  were  the  great 
national  traditions,  which  the  church  had  but 
partially  succeeded  in  obliterating  from  the  popu- 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  89 

lar  heart  and  mind.  The  latter  treated  mostly  of 
foreign  adventure  and  the  chivalry  of  France  and 
Italy,  of  Charlemagne  and  his  paladins,  of  King 
Arthur  and  his  knights,  of  the  heroes  of  Italian 
troubadour  and  French  trouvere. 

Of  the  Popular  Poetry  the  most  important  is 
the  Epic  of  the  Niebelungen  Lied,  which  has 
come  down  from  the  year  1200,  and  parts  of 
which  were  in  existence  one  thousand  years 
earlier.  This  poem,  of  nine  to  ten  thousand  lines, 
reflects  the  dark  imagery  of  the  North  rather  than 
that  of  the  sunnier  South,  and  is  of  wondrous 
force  and  beauty.  The  compiler  is  unknown,  but 
he  performed  his  work  with  rare  skill,  arranging 
the  lays  of  the  people,  heretofore  orally  transmit- 
ted, into  this  great  poem,  since  become  the  na- 
tional Epic 

Longfellow  says  that  the  first  stanza  of  the 
Song  of  the  Niebelungen^  like  the  overture  of  an 
opera,  contains  the  theme  of  the  whole  piece : 

"In   ancient  song  and  story   marvels  high   are   told, 
Of  nights  of  high  emprize  and  adventures  manifold; 
Of  joy  and  merrv  feasting,  of  lamenting,  woe  and  fear; 
Of  champions'  bloody  battles  many  marvels  shall  ye  hear." 

The  Heldenbuch  is  a  collection  of  early  national 
traditions  in  poetic  form,  the  oldest  of  which  are 
said  to  belong  to  the  Suabian  period. 

Among  the  court  singers  stands  out  Walter 
von  der  Vogelweide,  not  of  Suabian  birth,  but 
intimate  comrade  of  Emperor  Frederick  II.,  him- 
self a  minnesinger — in  whose  German  domains 
his  life  was  chieflly  spent.  If  for  nothing  else 
than  his  love  for  Germany,  he  deserves  a  place 
among  her  poets.    The  minnesingers  were  not  all 


90  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

of  so  lofty  a  character.  Some  were  affected  and 
absurd,  but  all  mirrored  more  or  less  the  life 
about  them.  The  great  names  among  the  court 
singers  are  Hartmann  von  Aue,  Gottfried  von 
Strassbourg,  and  Wolfram  von  Eschenbach. 

The  Meistersingers. — Following  the  brilliant 
epoch  of  the  Hohenstauffens,  there  was  a  great 
change  in  German  life,  which  now  centred  in  the 
cities,  and  literature  turned  from  the  castle  and 
hall  to  address  itself  to  the  burghers.  The  suc- 
cessors of  the  minnesingers  were  the  meister- 
singers,  no  longer  men  of  knightly  valor,  but  wan- 
dering minstrels  and  poets  of  inferior  rank  and 
birth,  and  often  of  corrupt  life,  who  made  their 
poetry  a  profession.  It  was  these  who  went 
about  from  place  to  place  engaging  in  contests, 
romantic  accounts  of  which  have  come  down  to 
us.  Successful  contestants  were  richly  deco- 
rated, silver  chains  put  about  their  neck  and 
wreaths  on  their  heads,  and  they  received  great 
popular  applause.  "The  names  of  some  of  the 
favorite  airs  that  have  come  down  to  us,"  says 
Hosmer,  "are  very  fantastic:  'The  Striped-saf- 
fron Flower-tune  of  Hans  Findeisen,^  *The  Eng- 
lish Tin-tune  of  Casper  Enderles,'  *The  Blood- 
gleaming  Wire-tune  of  Jobst  Zolner,'  'The 
Many-colored  Coat-tune  of  F.  Fromer.'  " 

Longfellow  says  of  the  meistersingers  that  they 
"were  for  the  most  part  mechanics,  who  had  in- 
corporated themselves  into  guilds,  or  singing- 
schools,  and  beautified  their  daily  toil  by  the 
charms  of  song: 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  91 

"As   the   weaver   plied  the  shuttle    wove   he   too   the   mystic 

rhyme, 
And  the  smith  his  iron  measures  hammered  to  the  anvil's 

chime. 
Thanking  God,   whose  boundless  wisdom  makes   the  flower 

of   poesy    bloom 
In  the  forge  s  dust  and  cinders,  in  the  tissues  of  the  loom." 

The  organization  was  at  first  known  as  "The 
Corporation  of  the  Twelve  Wise  Masters."  In 
1820  there  were  still  twelve  meistersingers  living 
in  Ulm,  and  in  1839  the  four  survivors  formally 
made  over  their  insignia  and  guild  property  to  a 
modern  singing  society,  thus  closing  the  record  of 
Meister-gesang  in  Germany. 

Suabian  Learning. — Learning  now  became 
more  general,  and  it  was  said  that  in  1492  the 
humblest  knight  could  read  and  write;  while  a 
historian  of  that  time  declared  that  out  of  no 
other  nation  went  forth  so  many  clergymen, 
teachers  and  musicians  as  out  of  Suabia.  The 
first  physician  mentioned  by  name  was  Nicholas 
von  Schwerdt,  of  Gmund,  in  the  year  1405,  while 
the  Court  Apothecary  shop  founded  in  141 3  was 
long  the  only  one  in  the  Dukedom.  Printing 
presses  were  found  in  the  larger  cities  after  1468. 
The  first  public  library  in  Germany  was  that  of 
the  Ulm  Miinster  (1433). 

During  succeeding  centuries  there  is  no  especial 
name  that  adds  lustre  to  Suabian  literature.  Jo- 
hann  Kepler,  the  famous  astronomer,  was  born  at 
Wiel  in  1571.  On  account  of  his  unorthodox  be- 
liefs he  was  persecuted,  although  all  Europe  was 
filled  with  the  fame  of  his  discoveries.  His  mother 
was  accused  of  being  a  witch,   but  finally  was 


9i  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

freed,  while  Kepler's  life  was  one  continuous 
struggle  for  the  bare  means  of  subsistence. 

Christian  Daniel  Schubart  (i  739-1 791),  poet, 
story-teller  and  musician,  was  a  man  of  great 
talent,  but  dangerous  frankness  of  speech.  In  pub- 
lishing the  Deutsche  Chronik,  he  offended  Duke 
Karl,  who  kept  him  imprisoned  in  the  fortress  of 
Hohenasperg  for  ten  years,  after  which  he  was 
court  poet  and  theatre  director  in  Stuttgart.  He 
had  great  poetic  gifts,  but  their  expression  was 
sadly  hindered  by  his  dissipated  life. 

The  poet  and  humanist.  Christian  Martin 
Wieland,  was  born  in  Oberholzheim  in  1733. 
He  studied  law  at  Tubingen,  was  called  in  1769 
to  Erfurt  as  Professor  of  Philosophy,  and  in  1772 
went  to  live  in  Weimar  as  instructor  of  the  young 
Crown  Prince,  Karl  August.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-four  his  fame  was  established  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  his  play,  Muscarion.  He  was  not  a 
creative  genius,  but  gained  the  ease  and  charm  of 
his  style  through  hard  labor.  Of  his  Oberon 
Goethe  said :  ^*As  long  as  poetry  remains  poetry, 
gold  gold,  and  crystal  crystal,  it  will  be  loved  and 
admired  as  a  masterpiece  of  poetic  art."  His  ro- 
mance, called  The  Abderites,  is  exceedingly  hu- 
morous and  absurd.  It  is  an  account  of  a  great 
law  suit  in  Abdera,  brought  by  a  donkey  driver 
against  a  dentist,  who  sat  down  and  rested  one  hot 
day  in  the  shadow  of  the  donkey  and  yet  refused 
later  to  pay  the  driver's  bill  for  that  privilege. 
In  the  end  the  entire  population  of  the  city  was 
divided  into  parties  called  "asses"  and  "shadows," 
between  whom  the  feud  was  bitter  and  amusing, 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  93 

the  whole  being  a  satire  on  the  evils  of  litigation. 
Shakespeare  was  made  familiar  to  German  read- 
ers through  Wieland's  translations.  His  popu- 
larity was  immense.  He  was  decorated  by  Na- 
poleon, knighted  by  Alexander  of  Russia,  and  was 
a  close  friend  of  Goethe  and  Schiller. 

Johann  Christoph  Schiller. — This  last  name  is 
the  greatest  in  Suabia's  annals.  Johann  Christoph 
Schiller  was  born  in  1759,  at  Marbach.  His 
early  life  was  restricted  and  repressed.  Destined 
by  his  parents  for  the  ministry,  he  was  oflered  by 
the  Duke  of  Wiirtemberg  a  place  in  the  Karl- 
schule  which  they  did  not  dare  refuse,  although 
the  personal  restraint  and  pedagogical  narrow- 
ness of  this  institution  were  exceedingly  irksome 
and  vexatious.  He  then  studied  medicine,  but 
soon  after  graduation  gave  voice  to  the  restless- 
ness in  his  own  heart  and  that  of  the  times  by  the 
publication  of  The  Robbers,  which,  while  ex- 
travagant, yet  expressed  with  great  truth  and 
force  the  reactionary  sentiments  which  were  a 
product  of  the  repressive  social  order  of  that  era. 
This  was  received  with  great  enthusiasm  in  Ger- 
many and  translated  into  many  languages,  but 
offended  the  Duke  of  Wiirtemberg,  who  arrested 
the  author  for  a  fortnight  and  forbade  him 
^'henceforth  and  forever  to  compose  comedies  or 
anything  of  that  sort."  Mindful  of  the  fate  of 
Schubart,  the  youthful  author  slipped  out  of  the 
gates  of  Stuttgart,  and  fled  to  Mannheim,  and 
his  after  life  was  passed  at  Jena,  where  he  held 
a  philosophical  professorship,  and  at  Weimar,  at 


94  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

the  hospitable  court  of  the  enlightened  Duke  Karl 
August,  who  honored  him  with  a  title. 

Schiller's  most  important  dramas  are  The  Rob- 
bers, Wallensteitij  Maria  Stuart,  The  Maid  of 
Orleans,  The  Bride  of  Messina,  and  William 
Tell.  His  principal  historical  works  are  The 
Revolt  of  the  Netherlands  and  The  Thirty  Years 
War;  and  in  poetry  The  Walk  and  The  Song  of 
the  BelL  He  was  possessed  of  a  most  beautiful 
creative  fancy  and  wrote  with  great  truth  and 
moral  earnestness.  His  characters  do  not  so 
much  stand  out  as  individual  beings  as  they  are 
expressions  of  ideas — political,  civil,  moral — so 
that  through  them  we  can  see  the  soul  of  the 
author.  Poetry  was  his  chosen  medium  of  ex- 
pression; through  it  he  could  best  express  his 
strong  sentiments  on  the  subjects  of  the  dignity 
of  humanity  and  personal  freedom,  and  it  is  in 
his  lyrics  and  ballads  that  his  inner  self  is  most 
completely  revealed.  Franke  quotes  a  verse  from 
his  poem  of  The  Artists: 

"Borne  on  your  daring  pinions  soar  sublime, 
Above  the  shoal  and  eddy  of  the  time, 
Far  glimmering  on  your  wizard  mirror  see. 
The  silent  shadow  of  the  age  to  be;" 

and  says  that  in  it  'Ve  have  an  epitome  of  all  the 
best  and  highest  which  Schiller's  life,  so  prema- 
turely and  abruptly  to  be  ended,  has  given  to  the 
world." 

He  died  at  the  age  of  forty-five.  May  9,  1805, 
and  his  memory  is  revered  greatly  by  the  German 
people.  On  the  ninetieth  birthday  of  the  poet  a 
Suabian  Schiller  Society  was  formed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  creating  a  Schiller  Museum  in  Marbach 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  95 

and  otherwise  honoring  his  memory.  Wiirtem- 
berg  celebrated  the  centenary  of  his  birth  by  a  na- 
tional festival,  and  on  May  9,  1905,  the  one  hun- 
dredth anniversary  of  his  death  w^as  observed  by 
all  the  German  Societies  at  home  and  abroad. 

The  Poet  XJhland. — Johann  Ludv^ig  Uhland 
was  one  of  the  sweetest  of  Germany's  lyric  poets. 
In  popularity  he  ranks  next  to  Schiller.  Uhland 
was  born  in  Tubingen  in  1787,  and  studied  law 
at  the  University  there.     His  verse — 

"I  toiled  at  law  with  effort  strong 
Against   the   promptings   of   my  heart, 
And    from    the    clasp    of    charming    song 
Had  torn  myself  but  half  apart" — 

shows  "his  inward  struggle  between  the  study  of 
the  law  which  he  loved  so  little  and  the  charm  of 
poetry  which  he  loved  so  much."  He,  however, 
pursued  his  study,  being  convinced  that  every 
man,  poet  or  not,  should  have  a  serious  occupa- 
tion in  life.  He  took  an  active  part,  also,  in  pub- 
lic affairs,  which  led  to  a  remonstrance  from 
Goethe  that  there  were  plenty  of  men  in  Suabia 
capable  of  serving  the  state,  but  there  was  only 
one  such  poet  as  Uhland. 

He  was  eminently  a  ballad  writer,  treating 
simple  subjects  with  sympathy,  cheerfulness  and  a 
tender  love  of  Nature,  and  renewing  the  charm 
and  simple  grace  of  The  Volklied  in  Germany 
literature.  In  his  drama  Ernst'  von  Schwaben, 
he  recalls  the  spirit  and  times  of  the  earlier  min- 
strels he  so  much  loved.  Uhland  wrote  350 
poems,  fully  half  of  them  masterpieces.  From 
1 8 14  to  the  present  time  not  a  year  has  passed  in 
Germany  without  a  new  edition  of  his  poems.  His 


96  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

life  was  spent  quietly  in  his  home  in  Tubingen. 
One  of  his  countrymen  said  of  him  that  he  was  '*a 
genuine  nightingale,  to  be  heard,  not  seen."  Uh- 
land  was  a  devoted  lover  of  his  Fatherland,  and  in 
public  life  stood  out  bravely  for  popular  rights, 
civil  equality  and  intellectual  freedom.  Among 
his  numerous  followers  are  some  gifted  poets,  who 
constitute  what  has  been  called  the  Suablan  school 
of  poetry.     He  died  in  1862. 

The  Novelist  Hauff. — Very  popular  among  his 
countrymen  is  the  novelist,  William  Hauff,  born 
in  Stuttgart  in  1802.  The  period  of  his  literary 
work  was  composed  within  the  short  space  of 
two  years,  and  his  early  death  at  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-five (1827)  was  a  serious  loss  to  Suablan  lit- 
erature. In  1826  his  first  volume.  The  Marchen 
Almanack — a  collection  of  fairy  tales,  which  he 
used  to  relate  to  pupils  during  his  tutorship — was 
published.  They  were  original  and  written  with 
a  delicious  humor  and  an  elegance  of  style  not 
customary  in  such  productions.  Their  success  was 
immediate,  and  his  fame  as  a  narrator  was  there- 
after established.  His  novel  Lichtenstein,  in- 
spired by  the  historical  tales  of  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
illustrates  the  most  interesting  period  of  Wiir- 
temberg's  history.  It  is  the  first  distinctly  his- 
torical romance  In  Suablan  literature,  although 
the  alleged  facts  are  purely  imaginative. 

Kerner  and  von  Scheffel. — Justinius  Kerner, 
born  in  1786  in  Ludwigsburg,  was  the  author  of 
many  extremely  popular  poems.  In  prose  his  hu- 
morous and  sympathetic  Picture  Book  out  of  my 
Childhood  is  the  best. 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  97 

Another  favorite  Suabian  writer  was  Joseph 
Victor  von  Scheffel  (1826- 1886),  a  native  of 
Karlsruhe.  Scheffel  was  another  example  of  the 
difficulty  of  at  once  recognizing  his  right  vocation. 
He  studied  law  and  practised  six  years  at  Sak- 
kingen;  then  went  to  Rome  to  fulfil  a  cherished 
desire  to  become  a  painter,  only  to  find  that  he 
had  mistaken  his  genius.  He  retired  to  Capri, 
overcome  with  despondency,  and  it  was  there  that, 
seeking  to  overcome  his  disappointment,  he  com- 
posed that  romantic,  humorously  melancholy 
poem,  Der  Trompeter  von  Sakkingen,  which  was 
to  establish  his  fame.  Returning  to  Germany  he 
began  his  romance,  Ekkehard,  These  two  works 
had  a  success  unequalled  before  in  the  history  of 
German  literature.  DerTrompeter  has  been  called 
the  most  popular  German  epic  of  the  century, 
Ekkehard  is  a  blending  of  history  and  poetry,  a 
vivid  and  picturesque  picture  of  the  life  of  the 
Tenth  Century  in  Suabia.  In  1895  Der  Trom- 
peter had  reached  its  216th  edition,  and  Ekkehard 
its  143rd.  In  high  spirits  over  his  success  he 
wrote  the  rollicking  student  songs  of  the  collec- 
tion Gaudeamus,  appropriated  by  the  youth  of 
the  universities.  His  fiftieth  birthday  was  cele- 
brated all  over  Germany,  and  the  Grand  Duke  of 
Baden  conferred  on  him  a  title  of  hereditary  no- 
bility. The  later  years  of  his  life  were  saddened 
by  melancholy. 

Schwab,  Schelling  and  Hegel. — Gustav 
Schwab  ( 1 791-1850)  was  a  poet  and  prose 
writer,  who  endeared  himself  to  his  compatriots 
by  his  JVandermgs  through  Suabia,  collections  of 


98  IN  SUABIA-LAND 

German  volksbooks  and  tales  of  ancient  times. 
Among  the  more  modern  popular  poets  and  writ- 
ers of  Wiirtemberg  are  Karl  Gerok,  Edward 
Morike,  Albert  Knapp,  F.  T.  Vischer,  J.  G. 
Fisher  and  Ottilie  Wildermuth. 

In  philosophy  Wiirtemberg  is  well  represented 
by  Frederick  William  Joseph  von  Schelling 
(1775-1854)  and  George  William  Frederick 
Hegel  (1770- 1 831).  The  former  was  born  at 
Leonberg  and  studied  at  Tiibingen.  In  1798  he 
was  called  to  be  professor  at  Jena,  then  to  Wurz- 
burg,  later  Xp  Munich  and  finally  to  Berlin.  At 
first  a  disciple  of  Kant  and  Fichte,  he  adopted, 
successively,  the  standpoints  of  Bruno,  Spinoza, 
Baader  and  Boehme.  Schelling's  writings  pos- 
sess a  power  of  arousing  original  thought.  Some 
one  says  that  "they  reveal  the  morning  red  of 
truth  and  the  student  becomes  a  mystic  and  be- 
holds the  truth  for  himself.*^ 

Hegel  was  born  in  Stuttgart.  While  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Tubingen  his  intellect  was  aroused  by 
contact  with  Schilling,  whose  friend  and  disciple 
he  avowed  himself  for  some  years  to  come.  He- 
gel's system  of  philosophy  has  been  called  that 
of  the  Absolute  Idea.  To  think  and  to  be  was 
the  same.  ''He  conceived,"  says  Franke,  *'the  hu- 
man mind  to  be  the  highest  form  of  the  Divine 
spirit  accessible  to  our  understanding,  and  that 
man's  consciousness  of  God  was  self-conscious- 
ness." He  believed  that  the  highest  freedom  was 
the  service  of  the  state,  and  rose  to  great  po- 
litical influence  through  his  public  services. 

Johann  Christian  Frederick  Holderlin  (1770- 


IN  SUABIA-LAND  99 

1843)  was  born  at  Lauffen  and  educated  at  Tu- 
bingen with  Hegel  and  Schelling.  He  pos- 
sessed rare  poetic  gifts,  but  with  eccentric  ten- 
dencies. His  romance  Hyperion  is  epistolary  in 
form  and  classic  in  style.  Some  of  his  lyrics  are 
very  beautiful.     In  1803  his  mind  failed. 

Conclusion. — Lord  Bacon  has  said  that  "he 
that  traveleth  into  a  country  before  he  hath  some 
entrance  into  the  language  goeth  to  school  and 
not  to  travel."  A  scanty  English  is  spoken 
throughout  Germany,  while  there  is  always  the 
lesser  obstacle  of  the  different  dialects  to  over- 
come. For  fullest  enjoyment,  however,  the  trav- 
eler in  Wiirtemberg  should  not  only  speak  the 
language,  but  be  familiar  with  the  popular  native 
literature.  This  is  a  great  help  in  establishing 
comradeship  with  the  many  enthusiasts  one  meets 
on  the  Suabian  hills,  from  whose  hearts  and 
tongues  come  so  readily  the  tales  and  ballads  of 
their  beloved  poets.  Happy  is  he  who  has  made 
previous  acquaintance  with  Lichtenstein  and  the 
MarcheUj  with  Ekkehard  and  Der  Trompeter 
vor  Sakkingen,  and  the  songs  of  Gandeamus. 
Many  of  the  ballads  have  "a  local  habitation  and 
a  name,"  and  a  volume  of  Uhland's  poems  is  a 
handy  addition  to  the  traveler's  knapsack.  Thus 
is  one  best  fitted  to  thoroughly  enjoy  the  sim- 
plicity and  happy  spirit  of  this  romantic,  cheerful 
and  beautiful  Suabian  land. 


lOO 


IN  SUABIA-LAND 


INDEX  TO  CONTENTS. 


Achalm,  66,  70,  72 

Agriculture,  33,  58 

Alamanni,  n 

Architecture,  87 

Bad  Boll,  74 

Baden-Baden,  83-85 

Baur,  Frederick  C,  68 

Bebenhausen,  68,  87 

Betzingen,  72 

Black  Forest,  8,  52,  74,  85 

Caf^s.  country,  59 

Cannstadt,  65 

Christmas,  49 

Conrad,  21 

Conradin,  22 

Constance,  Lake,  8,  83 

Costumes,  51 

Dannecker,  63 

Dofiinger,  24 

Easter,  50 

Eberhard  im  Bart,  12,  33,  65, 

67 
Esslingen,  63 
festivals,  48 

Frederick  Barbarossa,  18,  36 
Frederick  II.,  21 
Frischlin,  81 
Funerals,  45 
Ghibbeline,  17 
Gonzaga,  Barbara,  25 
Goppingen,  74 
Gravenitz,  Countess,  29 
Guelph,  17 
Hasenberg,  66 
Hauff ,  William,  27,  28,  55,  70, 

71,  96 
Hegel,  George  W.  H.,  98 
Heilbronn,  13,  74 
Hohenasperg,  74 
Hohenneuffen,  66,  80 
Hehenstauffen,  House  of,  16; 

peak,  76;  siege  of,  77 
Hohentwiel,  83 
Hohen  Urach,  81 
HohenzoUern,  8,  66,  82 
Holderlin,  Johann  C.  F.,  98 
Holidays,  48 
Honau,  69,  70 
Karl,  King,  28,  30 


Kepler,  91 
Kerner,  26,  33,  96 
Kircheim,  83 
Lauffen,  73 
Lichtenstein,  69 
Lorch,  74 
Magyars,  14 
Manfred,  22 
Maulbronn,  74,  87 
Meistersingers,  90 
Merseburg,  14 
Meurad,  12 
Minnesingers,  88 
Murrhardt,  72 
Nebelhohle,  69,  71 
Neckar,  5,  n,  62,  64,  80 
Niebelungen  Lied,  89 
Preszburg,  30 
Regiswindis,  12,  73 
Religion,  42 
RemSj  27 

Reutlingen,  27,  70,  72,  87 
Romans,  10 
Rothenberg,  5,  62 
Rottenburg,  11 
Scheflfel,  von,  97 
Schiffauer,  87 
Schiller,  65,  93 
Schelling,  von,  97 
Schubart,  92 
Schwab,  Gustav,  97 
Stuttgart,  6,  65 
Titles,  55 
Tiibingen,  25,67 
Uhland,  95 
Ulm,  14,  84 

Ulrich,  Duke,  26,  67,  70,  71 
Urach,  25 
Vineyards,  60 
Vogelweide,  20,  79 
Weddings,  45 
Weinsburg,  18 
Wiederhold,  83 
Wieland,  92 
Wildbad,  74 
William  I.,  30,  50,  6a,  65 
William  II.,  31 
Wiirtemberg,  House  of,  as 
Zeithblom,  86 


NOTE.— The  translations  of    Uhland's  verses  on  pages  4 
and  32  were  made  for  this  volume  by  Mrs.  Adolph  Spaeth. 


m 


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